
Glass. 
Book_ 



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MEMOIRS, 

OF 

GENERAL MOREAU; 

ILLUSTRATED 

WITH A FAC SIMILE OF THE GENERAL'S LAST 
LETTER TO MADAME MOREAU, 

AND 

AN ENGRAVED PLAN 

OF THE 

SIEGE OF KEH1L, 
AND PASSAGE OF THE RHINE IN 1796. 



BY JOHN PHILIPPART, ESQ, 

AUTHOR OF THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGNS OF 1812 AND 1813 ' J 

And several Pamphlets in " The Pamphleteer." 
"Soyez tranquilles, Messieurs ; c'est mon sort." 

Gen. Moreau's Obss. on receiving his last wound. 



pjttla&eipjna $ 

PUBLISHED BY M. CAREY, 

No. 121, Chesnut Street, 

4ND WELLS & LILLY, BOSTON. 
1816. 



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to 



DEDICATION; 

BY PERMISSION 



TO 



MADAME MOREAU. 



Madam, 

I am much gratified by 
the honor you have conferred on me, 
in permitting the following Memoirs 
to appear under your auspices. But 
in addressing the widow of General 
Moreau, who has shared his con- 
fidence, his triumphs, and his perse- 
cutions, I must beg to express those 
sentiments of respect for your virtues, 
and sympathy in your unparalleled 
misfortunes, with which every Eng- 
lishman ought to be penetrated. And 



VI DEDICATION. 



I earnestly hope that the protection 
of an illustrious and generous Prince, 
together with the tender and grate- 
ful offices of private friendship, may 
restore to you that tranquillity of 
which you have been so lately de- 
prived by an event which, at the same 
time, has robbed Europe of one of its 
firmest and most noble supporters. 

I have the honor to be, 
Madam, 
Your most obedient, 
And faithful Servant, 
J. PHILIPPART, 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



IT has been the object of the Author of th« 
following pages to present the Public with a 
correct Memoir of General Moreau, in which 
he flatters himself he has included every cir- 
cumstance of importance, military and political, 
that attaches to the career of that most dis- 
tinguished officer ; and for which purpose he has 
employed every exertion in collecting materials 
that may be depended upon. 

The Author has only consulted such author- 
ities as he could with confidence rely on : 
he has avoided the insertion of all incidents 
trivial or doubtful, conceiving that the fame 
of General Moreau might be sullied, and the 
splendor of his just renown overshadowed, 
by any indelicate and heedless adoption of 



Vlll ADVERTISEMEMT. 

in discriminate intelligence, which frequently has 
no foundation in truth, but owes its rise to the 
ready invention of ill judging persons. 

A faithful account is given of the campaigns 
in Germany and Italy since 1794, as far as 
they relate to the operations of General Moreau ; 
also a detailed account of the siege of Kehl, 
and the movements immediately previous and 
subsequent to that event, from the celebrated work 
by General Dedon, published at Paris, and which 
is illustrated by a most correct map, describing 
every operation at the siege of Kehl, as well 
as the passage of the Rhine effected by General 
Moreau in the environs of Strasbourg. 

These, and every other event connected with 
the public and private life of General Moreau, 
the author has drawn together, and embodied 
with the utmost fidelity and circumspection. 




a AMMAMEM&REAIT. 









A 



MEMOIRS, 



fr. $c. 



©0«®®®®®®®®®®9» 



THE fall of a renowned military leader may not 
improperly be compared to a political earthquake : 
it is a circumstance of more permanent although 
less general calamity, than the loss of a great battle, 
and calculating its effects on an army in the field, 
it is, beyond question, a misfortune of the utmost 
magnitude. 

When the efforts of a superior and vigorous 
mind are employed in the purposes of universal 
emancipation, the punishment of insatiate ambi- 
tion, or the amelioration of human suffering, 
mankind must contemplate its powers with a 
mingled sentiment of veneration and delight; o£^ 

B 




( ( ^te<pimi£(> 



de la J)ermere kttre du &EN? ''MOMEAU d MAIhAME 'MOREAl^ 
(Alt* Jhsvo a buX J U (Sx^-^ll^ ^^fc^A^//*. ^Hp 



10 



hope, anxiety, and confidence ; we participate with 
its feelings ; we exult in its triumphs ; we rejoice in 
its success ; or in its adversity, we cling with heavy 
hearts around, and mourn the fallibility of all 
human speculations, and human endeavours. 

In this most awful and momentous epocha, the 
thoughts and wishes of every well-disposed indi- 
vidual must necessarily be directed to the issue of 
a campaign, in which are involved the dearest 
interests of Europe ; in which the flower of almost 
every nation within its boundaries are serving, 
and kings themselves lending their examples and 
their persons to the great and glorious cause of 
Christendom. 

One only circumstance could have heightened 
the universal interest, or given to the feelings of 
mankind, more of enthusiasm, expectation, and 
poignancy — and that was the voluntary and per- 
sonal services of a man, who had proved himself, 
when young in years, a veteran in the art of 
war — one, who had run a race of victory and 
renown, without forgetting he was a man, and amen- 
able to God and his fellow- beings — one, who had 
triumphed over malice, persecution, and injury, 
by meeting them with patience and fortitude — - 
who endured exile, ingratitude, and a circum- 
scribed income, without irritability or despair — and 



11 



who was more honored in his transatlantic banish- 
ment, than his persecutor, on the most brilliant 
throne. 

In the vigor of his days, in the plenitude of his 
mental and physical powers, General Moreau 
again burst upon the world, not as the youthful 
and ardent genius, who led the armies of repub- 
lican France, and who, in imbibing the spirit and 
fashion of his country, big with the chimerical and 
baseless notions, which have depopulated half the 
civilized world, appeared like a blazing star in 
the fulness of his glory, and was suddenly with- 
drawn from his early sphere: not thus, but as a 
man mature and temperate, as a man, who from 
a contemplation of the past, and anticipation of 
the future, yielded to the sage and unerring dic- 
tates of duty, humanity, and honor, and appeared 
in the field opposed to his successful compeer, 
Buonaparte. 

A great battle was expected — the liberties of 
Europe hung in the balance — all was suspense, 
anxiety, and speculation ; but the troops were 
brave, their Princes with them in person, the 
talents, the counsels, the experience of Moreau 
was there, and amidst all the contrarieties of opinion 
and feeling, hope was predominant, and it was justi- 
ied in the event. 



12 



A contest took place, which soon proved success- 
ful, and decisive of the fate of Germany ; but the 
main spring of the allied powers was broken, the 
pillar of their strength was shaken to its foundation, 
the lock of Sampson was dissevered, and the 
mighty spirit, which animated the whole, was about 
to depart for ever. 

After the battle of Dresden, the universal sen- 
sation of the enemies of France was directed to 
the fate of General Moreau — a sensation, too recent- 
ly and deeply experienced to require a commentary ; 
nor can it be otherwise, that Britain, and her Allies, 
should deplore the fall of one of their bravest 
champions. 

The family of General Moreau, although not 
noble, was highly respectable. He was born in 
the year 1761, in the maritime town of Morlaix, 
and in a condition of life, which placed him in an 
intermediate state, that gave sufficient scope for 
the cultivation of his native talents ; being so 
much above dependence as to allow freedom of 
thought and action, yet so far below affluence as to 
require the exertion of industry, energy, and self- 
control. 

General Moreau received a liberal education, 
which was finished in the French University of 



13 



Rheims. He was destined to follow the profes- 
sion of his father, who had practised that of an 
Advocate, with considerable reputation, in his 
native town : but a predilection for a military life 
induced the subject of this memoir at a very early 
age to enter the army as a private soldier. He 
was, however, redeemed from the ranks by his 
parent, and he resumed his studies. 

In the year 1788, Moreau was called to the 
bar, when he immediately commenced that career 
of celebrity, which has given such universal asto- 
nishment. He had not practised the profession 
long, before his brilliant talents, as an orator and 
an Advocate, in combination with his literary 
acquirements, and polished manners, obtained for 
him the honorable distinction of being elected 
Precof de Droit, Provost of Law, in the Univer- 
sity where he was educated ; the professors of 
which, justly proud of the mind they had per- 
fected, drew him from the legal course, that he 
was eminently gifted to pursue, to a sphere of 
action, that called forth all those talents, for which 
he has since been celebrated. 

The powerful genius of Moreau, his patriotic 
virtues, and his eloquence, were speedily brought 
into full exercise. The Cardinal de Brienne, then 
minister to the unfortunate Louis the Sixteenth, a 



14 



man inordinately attached to power and preroga- 
tive, and in consequence extremely jealous of its 
assumption in others, had long meditated an at- 
tack on the provincial magistracy, who doubtless 
in some instances had outstepped the restrictive 
limits of their authority. These were the ostensi- 
ble motives of the Cardinal minister's intended 
encroachments on the official independence of 
those functionaries. But it is with more appear- 
ance of truth asserted, that the penetrating and 
susceptible mind of the Cardinal foresaw the 
rising of the Hydra, and with a loyal and deter- 
mined spirit essayed to crush it in its birth. 

Moreau, already a scholar, an orator, and a 
public functionary, was selected to become the 
legal defender of the magistracy, and was entrusted 
with the best and dearest privileges of his compat- 
riots. In this novel and responsible situation, the 
literary and legislative endowments of the departed 
General were most conspicuous ; nor were his 
foresight and consummate prudence less the object 
of notice and eulogium. 

The first proceeding adopted by Moreau in 
his arduous undertaking was remunerated with 
the proud title of General of the Provincial Par- 
liament; nor was the court partv, against whom 
he pleaded the popular cause, less backward in 



15 



paying those tributes to his talents and character, 
which they could not observe without respect and 
admiration. 

The Count de Bissy, at this period military go- 
vernor of the province of Brittany, had orders from 
his court, to arrest but not to injure this rising 
and extraordinary character. In this instance, 
the genius of Moreau defended him, and by 
observing a line of conduct marked with the ut- 
most courage and circumspection, he eluded the 
toils by which he was to be ensnared, and continued 
his patriotic exertions with all the ardor of his 
nature. 

The Cardinal de Brienne, being succeeded in 
his ministry by M. jtfeckar, a more tolerant and 
liberal system of government was adopted ; and 
Moreau readily perceiving the enlightened bias 
of the new minister's mind, became a convert to 
those opinions which marked the character of 
Neckar, and to which he had before maintained so 
strong an opposition. 

About this period, the royal authority being 
threatened from almost every department of the 
Kingdom of France, and the monster faction 
rearing its snakes in the very bosom of the capital, 
a convocation of the States General was deter- 



16 



mined ; and with the view of contributing to the 
enforcement of this royal decree, Moreau took 
the command of the Rennes and Nantes militias. 

With a mind warmly attached to the interests of 
his country, and susceptible of all the milder feelings 
of humanity, General Moreau remained virtuous 
amongst thousands of his countrymen who promo- 
ted the wildness of jacobinism and anarchy: and 
in his military command he acquired an increase of 
reputation. 

In the year 1792, the French government, think- 
ing it a requisite measure, to raise and embody cer- 
tain battalions for the exclusive defence and sup- 
port of the monarchy, General Moreau was elected 
"to the command of one of them, from which period 
he relinquished his former pursuits, and became a 
soldier by profession. 

Coercion, or its opposite quality, were alike 
ineffectual in attempting to oppose the revolution- 
ary principles which continued to develope them- 
selves in this turbulent year, and amidst the dread- 
ful excesses and enormities committed, Moreau 
preserved unimpaired his character and his princi- 
ples. Nor were the talents and courage of this gal- 
lant officer unrewarded. He was promoted in 
the course of 179& to the rank of Colonel, and 



17 



having with his battalion joined the army of the 
Moselle, he was advanced to that of General of 
Brigade. 

The first prominent military enterprize under- 
taken by General Moreau was not crowned with 
success. The late Duke of Brunswick, a brave 
and experienced soldier, was in the field with an 
army highly disciplined and infinitely superior to 
any loose and ill-compacted force which the French 
could bring against him at that time. General 
Moreau ventured to attack the Duke, and he sus- 
tained a complete defeat ; but such were the abili- 
ties he displayed, that the illustrious Duke in his 
details of the battle, gave the most honorable 
testimony to the military talents of General Mo- 
reau. This distinction, added to his judicious 
conduct subsequent to the defeat, procured to him 
the friendship of General Pichegru, who at that 
period held the chief command of the army of 
the Rhine. 

This was an important era in the life of General 
Moreau, conducing to establish his military reputa- 
tion, and advance him still farther on the road to 
thb chief command of a grand army. 

To the perception of General Pichegru, an offi- 
cer possessing penetration equal to any general of 

C 



18 



the age, and liberality to encourage one who prom- 
ised to become a formidable rival of his glory, 
the details given by General Moreau of his lost 
battle were such as proved the science and bravery 
of that officer. And when the French government 
removed General Piehegru, from his command on 
the Rhine, to the chief command of the northern 
army, he accepted the appointment only on con- 
dition that General Moreau should accompany 
him. 

The directory readily acceded to the request of 
Pichegru, and on the fourteenth of April 179*, 
General Moreau was promoted to the rank of Gen- 
eral of Division. 

Towards the end of the same month, April, 
General Moreau was entrusted with the command 
of a corps of the army, with whieh General Piche- 
gru invaded Austrian West Flanders, and he bore a 
distinguished share in all the operations which en- 
sued, particularly on the 26th and 30th, on which 
days he blockaded and took Menin. 

The garrison of Menin consisted of four batta- 
lions of Hanoverians, some cavalry and artillery of 
the same nation, and four or six companies of La 
Chatre's regiment of Loyal Emigrants. The 
Austrians had occupied Menin during the winter. 



19 



and had engaged to complete the repair of its 
fortifications, and to supply them with the proper 
ordnance, but had failed in both. They had, 
however, commenced some extensive works. Gen- 
eral Abercrombie occupied the place early in the 
season with some British troops, but quitted it to 
join the Duke of York; and General Hammerstein, 
who succeeded to the command, had not been in 
the place a sufficient time to complete the works 
commenced, when Pichegru invaded West Flanders, 
Had they, however, been completed, no guns 
could have been mounted, because none had been 
supplied. 

Every preparation was made by General Ham- 
merstein, of which his means were susceptible. 
The outworks, and those commenced by the Aus- 
trians, were not only untenable, but too extensive for 
his garrison, and he had only field-pieces for the 
defence of the body of the place. 

Had the French stormed Menin on their arrival, 
it must have been taken, and the emigrants would 
have been executed as traitors to their country. 
Fortunately, the enemy was dilatory in making the 
attack, and it was not until the 29th, that the 
assault was made. In the interim, the emigrant 
engiueers (they were in the pay of Great Britain) 
made great exertions in repairing the defences of 
the place. 



20 



On the 39th, the town was attacked on all sides, 
and set ton fire in several places ; and some posts, 
which the garrison had neglected to demolish, 
being seized by the French, they were enabled to 
approach within musket-shot of the works, and 
therefore a successful defence was deemed im- 
practicable. A capitulation, however, could not 
be accepted, as the emigrants would be exposed 
to destruction. Tn this dilemma, General Ham- 
merstein adopted the daring resolution of forcing 
his way through the ememy, which he accomplished 
in the most gallant manner, carrying along with him 
not only his own cannon and baggage, but also sev- 
eral pieces of cannon taken from the enemy, and 
some hundreds of prisoners. 

The sortie was so unexpected, and the attack so 
vigorous, that the enemy were surprised and dis- 
concerted. In justice to General Hammerstein, 
I cannot avoid observing, that the exertions made 
by him and his garrison, under the circumstances 
of the case, were highly creditable to both; and 
the subsequent resolution of making his way 
through the enemy, was the only one which affor- 
ded a chance of saving the garrison, but would not 
have been attempted or accomplished by a com- 
mon mind. No officer in the army was more dis- 
tinguished for zeal, gallantry, and the exact per- 
formance of his duty, than General Hammer 



21 



stein, and none understood better the profession 
of arms ; not only upon this, but upon every future 
occasion, during the campaign, his behaviour and 
activity, far beyond his years, were held forth as an 
example to the army, by which he was generally ad- 
mired and respected. 

The emigrants, animated by a just sense of their 
danger, made uncommon exertions, forcing a 
passage with their bayonets, and being bravely 
supported by the rest of the garrison, they pene- 
trated through the suburbs of Bruges, and joined 
the advanced posts of the allied army at Rousse- 
lair. 

On the 18th of May, General Moreau was, with 
a very inferior force, opposed to General Clairfait 
on the Lys, and although forced to yield, he gained 
great credit by the ability and firmness which he 
displayed. 

Ypres, an important town in the Austrian 
Netherlands, was the point to which their views of 
conquest were next directed, and General Moreau, 
even then considered one of the bravest and most 
scientific officers in the French service, was en- 
trusted with the reduction of that fortress. Early 
in June the siege was commenced, with an army 



22 



of ' sixty thousand men ; General Pichegru having 
previously detached a corps of observation to 
watch the movements of the Austrian General 
Clairfait, and a corps under General Bonneau to 
Courtray, to observe that of the allies near 
Tournay. 

General Clairfait, from the necessity of attempt- 
ing the relief of Ypres, was directed to attack 
General Moreau's corps of observation on the 
10th, with means at no time adequate to the task 
assigned to him. He was repulsed, and retired 
to Thielt. 

He renewed the attempt on the 13th, was 
successful in the early part of the day, but finally 
obliged to yield to fresh numbers, brought up by 
the enemy, he retired again to the neighbourhood 
of Thielt, which offered a favourable position, and 
there rallied his forces, with an intention to cover 
and protect that town, and also to preserve a com- 
munication with Oudenarde. 



1 Vide Annual Register 1794, p. 24. It has, however- 
been questioned, whether the French had this force. General 
Moreau commanded the besieging army, the covering army 
was under the orders of Souham and Macdonald, and the. 
whole under the general direction of Pichegru. 



23 



The French, however, had insinuated themselves 
between the Austrians and Oudenarde, and the 
garrison of Ypres, consisting of three Austrian 
battalions, and six battalions of Hessians, the latter 
very weak, and a few light companies, the whole 
under the Austrian Colonel Salis, (who deserved 
great credit for his defence) and amounting to 
about six thousand men, at the period when the 
place was invested, but who had severely suffered 
during the siege, now considering resistance inef- 
fectual, and despairing of relief from General 
Clairfait, capitulated to General Moreau, on (the 
same day) the 17th of June. 

The possession of Ypres was of consequence to 
the French, in reference to that of West Flanders, 
but it was wholly out of the line of all the commu- 
nications of the Allies, being nearly the extreme 
point on their right. Charleroi was, however, in 
all senses a more important point, and it has fre- 
quently been questioned whether it was judicious 
in General Pichegru to engage in the siege of 
Ypres, the fall of which must have resulted from 
a successful attack on the centre of the allied 
force. 

The fall of Charleroi 2 to the arms of General 

* About this period, some of the most ferocious members of 
the ruling party in France, exhibited a degree of savage revenge 



24 



Jourdan followed, and the allied army became 
weakened and depressed, whilst the French Revo- 

against England, well calculated to render them the objects of 
general detestation. Not content with solemnly proclaiming 
the Premier " the enemy of the human race, in the convention, 
a decree was also obtained, declaring "that henceforth no 
English or Hanoverians should be made prisoners," and the 
annexed address was soon after transmitted to the armies of 
the Republic, in which, after accusing the British government 
of all the crimes perpetrated against France, they assert that 
" not one of the slaves of George ought to return to the traitor- 
ous country of England." 

On the 11th Prairial (31st of May, 1794) Barrere proposed 
to the convention, that the decree, prohibiting quarter being 
given to the English or Hanoverians, should be accompanied 
by the following address to the armies : 

" England is capable of every outrage on humanity, and of 
every crime towards the republic. She attacks the rights of all 
nations, and threatens to annihilate liberty. 

" How long will you suffer on your frontiers, the slaves of 
George, the soldiers of the most atrocious of tyrants. He 
formed the congress of Pilnitz, and brought about the scandal- 
ous surrender of Toulon. He massacred your brethren at 
Genoa, and burned our magazines in the maritime towns. — 
He corrupted our cities, and endeavoured to destroy the 
national representation — He starved your plains, and pur- 
chased treasons on the frontiers. 

" When the event of battle shall put in your power either 
English or Hanoverians, bring to your remembrance the vast 
tracts of country English slaves have laid waste. Carry your 
views to La Vendee, Toulon, Lyons, Landrecies, Martinico, 
and St. Domingo— places still reeking with the blood which 



25 



lutionists were resolved to pursue their successes 
with every power they eould bring into action. 

the atrocious policy of the English has shed — Do not trust 
to their artful language, which is an additional crime worthy 
of their perfidious character and Machiavelian government. 
Those who boast that they abhor the tyranny of George, say, 
can they fight for him ? 

No, no, republican soldiers — You ought therefore when 
victory shall put in your power either Englishmen or Hanove- 
rians, to strike : not one of them ought to return to the trait- 
orous territory of England, or to be brought into France — Let 
the British slaves perish, and Europe be free. 

The conduct of His Royal Highness the Duke of York on this 
occasion, was at once dignified and humane, and forms a striking 
contrast to the disgusting and barbarous system of the monsters 
who had usurped the French government. Instead of issuing 
orders for immediate retaliation, and thus producing all the 
horrors of mutual assassination, His Royal Highness, with that 
nobleness which characterizes his conduct, issued the following 
address to his army — To the honor of the enemy also, neither 
Officers nor Soldiers would enforce the mandates of the self- 
created government, and some of the Generals actually refused 
obedience to them at the risk of their lives. 

June 7, 1794. 
" His Royal Highness the Duke of York thinks it incumbent 
on him to announce to the British and Hanoverian troops 
under his command, that the National Convention of France, 
pursuing that gradation, of crimes and horrors which has dis- 
tinguished the periods of its government as the most calamitous 
of any that has yet occurred to the History of the World, has 
just passed a decree, that their soldiers shall give no quarter t& 

T) 



26 



These events, and more particularly the opera- 
tions on the Sambre, seriously dispirited the 

the British or Hanoverian troops. His Royal Highness antici- 
pates the indignation and horror which has naturally arisen 
in the minds of the brave troops whom he addresses upon re- 
ceiving this information. His Royal Highness desires, however, 
to remind them that mercy to the vanquished is the brightest 
gem in a soldier's character, and exhorts them not to suffer their 
resentment to lead them to any precipitate act of cruelty on 
their part, which may sully the reputation they have acquired 
in the world. 

" His Royal Highness believes that it would be difficult for 
brave men to conceive that any set of men who are themselves 
exempt from sharing in the dangers of war, should be so 
base and cowardly as to seek to aggravate the calamities of it 
upon the unfortunate people who are subject to their orders. 

" It was, indeed, reserved for the present times to produce to 
the world, the proof of the possibility of the existence of such 
atrocity and infamy-—*The pretence for issuing this decree, even 
if founded in truth, would justify it only to minds similar to 
those of the members of the National Convention. It is in fact 
too absurd to be noticed, and still less to be refuted. The French 
must themselves see througlvthe flimsy artifice of an intended 
assassination, by which Robespierre has succeeded in procuring 
that military guard, which has at once established him the suc- 
cessor of the unfortunate Louis, by whatever name he may chuse 
to dignify his future reign. In all the wars which from the 
earliest times have existed between the English and the French 
nations, they have been accustomed to consider each other in 
the light of generous as well as brave enemies, while the 
Hanoverians, for a century the allies of the former, have shared 
in this reciprocal esteem. Humanity and kindness have at all 



27 



Austrians, and rendered their resistance to the 

French so undecided as to become almost unavail- 

c 

times taken place the instant that opposition ceased 5 and the 
same cloak has been frequently seen covering those who were 
wounded and enemies, whilst indiscriminately conveying to 
the hospitals of the conquerors. 

« The British and Hanoverian armies will not believe that 
the French nation, even under their present infatuation, can so 
far forget their characters as soldiers, as to pay any attention to 
a decree as injurious to themselves as it is disgraceful to the 
persons who passed it — on this confidence His Royal Highness 
trusts that the soldiers of both nations will confine their senti- 
ments of resentment and abhorrence to the National Convention 
alone ; persuaded that they will be joined in them by every 
Frenchman, who possesses one spark of honof , or one principle 
of a soldier : and His Royal Highness is confident that it will 
only be on finding, contrary to every expectation, that the 
French army has relinquished every title to the fair character 
of soldiers and of men, by submitting to and obeying so atrocious 
an order, that the brave troops under his command will think 
themselves justified, and indeed under the necessity of adopt- 
ing a species of warfare, for which they will then stand acquit- 
ted to their own conscience, to their country, and to the world. 
In such an event, the French army alone will be answerable 
for the two-fold vengeance which will fall upon themselves, 
their wives and their children, and their unfortunate country, 
already groaning under every calamity which the accumulated 
crimes of unprincipled ambition and avarice can heap upon 
their devoted victims. 

" His Royal Highness desires these orders may be read and 
explained to the men at their successive roll callings." 



28 



ing, and determined the evacuation of West Flan- 
ders and the Netherlands in general. 

The Austrians beheld an army every where 
victorious opposed to them ; the whole of Austrian 
Flanders either reduced or threatened, and they 
yielded from an apparent conviction of the fallacy 
of resistance. The means of resistance were, 
however, still ample, if they had been properly 
applied, and other causes, besides an impression of 
weakness, led to a retreat to the Rhine. A false 
policy had more concern with it than any military 
consideration. 

The Flemish towns, situated between Ghent and 
the coast, had been abandoned by General Clair- 
fait, and the Hanoverian corps under General 
Walmoden, forming part of General Clairfait's 
army, having retired to Bruges after the defeat of 
Clairfait, as to a cantonment, not to a town which 
could be defended hy a garrison, the works of 
Bruges having been dismantled, finding it impossi- 
ble to stem the torrent which poured upon them, 
withdrew from that city, and joined themselves to 
the forces of General Clairfait. The magistracy of 
Bruges then readily submitted to the conquerors, 
and acknowledged the supremacy of the French 
republic. General Moreau occupied Bruges on 
the #9th of June, where he was joined by the body 



29 



of Pichegru's army on the 30th, "and on the same 
day Ostend appears to have been occupied by the 
French. 

Oudenarde, however, did not fall nntil His 
Royal Highness the Duke of York had quitted 
Tournay, and tne, general evacuation had been 
determined by the Austrians. It had been 
bombarded by the French during some days before 
it submitted. 

The French made a considerable booty in these 
different garrisons, chiefly in military stores and 
provisions. 

In the mean time, these rapid successes totally 
disarranged the plans laid down by His Royal 
Highness the I)uke of York, who at that period 
was stationed with the British troops at Tournay. 
His Royal Highness on the 24th of June, marched 
to Renaix, whence he could support Oudenarde, 
and in order to form a junction with General 
Clairfait. When, however, His Royal Highness 
perceived that in consequence of the retrogade 
movements of the Austrians, he was forced to 
retire from the line of the Scheldt, he immediately 
withdrew the garrison of Oudenarde. 



30 

Oudenarde, although from its position an admi- 
rable point of assembly, must have been regarded 
as a very secondary object, and it was incapable 
of protracted defence. In fact, Oudenarde, though, 
in former wars it stood sieges, had been dis- 
mantled by the Emperor Joseph with other places, 
and was now barely secured against a coup de 
main. The Duke of York, from his inefficient 
force, was prevented from having any conside- 
rable body of troops in Tournay. A small Aus- 
trian corps remained there, and also a few Hes- 
sians, who afterwards joined the Duke of York, 
but not with any view to garrison or defend it. 
Of these circumstances the enemy readily availed 
themselves : they entered that city in triumph, 
and in a very short time the whole of Austrian 
Flanders became a province of the French repub- 
lic. 

The reputation of General Moreau, who contin- 
ued to act as an executive officer under General 
Pichegru, was by these signal yet almost bloodless 
successes, raised to that height of celebrity which 
few officers, even in advanced life, have the good 
fortune to attain : and throughout the whole cam- 
paign of 1794, this young officer never deviated 
from the principles and practice of a brave and 
honorable soldier. 



31 



The Dutch, whose supineness was the subject 
of universal reprobation, although they perceived 
the Austrian States in their vicinity falling under 
the French yoke, were not to be roused from their 
lethargy. Instead of repairing the fortifications 
of their frontier towns, and increasing the defences 
of such forts and strong places as might oppose 
a barrier to the tide of conquest, which was rising 
upon them, they were lost to all sense of their 
situation. They were masters of some fortresses 
on the Flemish coast, opposite to Zealand, and in 
particular, one situated on the small island of Cad- 
sand, celebrated for scenes of the most obstinate 
valor, during the great struggle made by that people 
for their liberties with the Spaniards. 

This fortress. General Moreau, found an easy 
conquest. He entered Cassandria, its principal 
town, on the 86th of July, 1794. A large supply of 
cannon and other military stores here fell into his 
hands. 

The town of Sluys, however, on the opposite 
coast, was not won without difficulty. Its Gover- 
nor, Vanderduyn, when summoned to surrender, 
replied, "The honor of defending a place like 
Sluys, that of commanding a brave garrison, and 
the confidence reposed in me, are my only 
answer." 



32 



It was early in the month of July, that General 
Moreau first set down before Sluys, at which 
period he was assailed by an affliction of a domestic 
nature, dreadful as unexpected. He was on the 
point of mounting his horse to hazard his life 
in the service, and for the glory of his degenerate 
countrymen, when intelligence was brought to 
him, that his venerable and respected father had 
suffered by the summary course of republican 
justice. His parent had undertaken to manage the 
property of several emigrants, and this furnished 
his enemies with an excuse to destroy him. He 
was accused of being an Aristocrat, or a friend of 
the Aristocrats, and under this charge was led to 
the scaffold. 

General Moreau felt the barbarous decree, but 
yielding to the exigency of the time, he stifled the 
best and warmest feelings of his nature, remounted 
his charger, and executed the duties of his situa- 
tion. 3 



3 So much however was General Moreau exasperated 
against the inhuman monsters in whose service he was fight- 
ing, that he tendered his resignation to General Pichegru. 
" What do you intend to do" inquired the latter. " To quit 
the army and France" was the reply. " To quit the army and 
Fiance!" repeated Pichegru: do you not then see the manner 
in which the Emigres are treated by the Foreign powers? I do 



33 



The brave garrison of Sluys appear to have deter- 
mined on resisting the rapid advances the French 
had made in their occupation of the Austrian Flem- 
ish provin es and towns, and continued to make 
a most vigorous defence, until the &5th of August, 
when the garrison surrendered. The soldier-like 
resistance which they displayed, induced General 
Moreau, with Roman greatness of mind and true 
glory, to grant advantageous conditions to the gar- 
rison, and he strongly expressed his pride and satis- 
faction in having been opposed to soldiers of such 
determined gallantry. 

The city of Coblentz had been for some time 
the head quarters of the principal French emi- 
grants. It was the seat of their councils, and the 
grand centre of communication. It was, therefore, 
particularly obnoxious to the rulers of France, and 
they determined on its reduction. General Jour- 
dau, the Commander in Chief of the republican 
troops in that quarter, having received orders to 



not accept of your resignation. I beg of you as a friend, to 
reflect on the step you intend to take : come to me again to- 
morrow. It is not thus that you should intend to avenge the 
death of your father; you must think of acquiring a glory and 
an importance which may one day put you in a situation 
to avenge it. I shall soon furnish you with an opportunity 
ef distinguishing yourself. 

E 



o 



4 



this effect from the convention, detached General 
Moreau, who was called to his army, (owing to the 
division which he commanded at Sluys having suf- 
fered so much from sickness as to be sent to the 
rear,) upon this service. 

A strong body of Austrians attempted to inter- 
cept General Moreau upon his march, and a smart 
action ensued, wherein the former were defeated 
with considerable loss. The French General met 
with no other obstruction until he arrived before 
Coblentz. 

The Allies had employed a considerable time in 
fortifying 4 that city, and they flattered themselves 
that the garrison would make a resistance adequate 
to the expense incurred for that purpose. The 
unfortunate emigrants could no longer regard Cob- 
lentz as a strong hold, and a secure and certain re- 
treat, after the Austrians retired towards the Rhine, 
and when any attempt at its reduction could not be 
counteracted by an army in the field. The repu- 
tation of General Moreau preceded him, and the 
celerity with which he effected the reduction 
of Coblentz, was considered one among the 

* Ann. Reg. 1794. p. 54. 



35 



many remarkable events of the campaign of 
1794. 

The Austrian garrison retreated across the 
Rhine, and the whole surrounding country shortly 
afterwards yielded to a force which they had not 
power to withstand. The reduction of Coblentz 
was an event of great importance to the republican 
arms, as the allies possessed no other places on 
the left bank of the Rhine, except Wesel ancl 
Mentz. 

The victorious French army pursued the retreat- 
ing Austrians across the Rhine, and soon after- 
wards General Pichegru made preparations 
for the invasion of Holland with his whole 
army. 

Nimeguen, the capital of ancient Rata via, but 
a place of no strength at this period, the works 
being wholly out of repair, and unfurnished with 
cannon, was, after various operations between the 
Meuse and the Waal, and the reduction of several 
places on the former, invested by the principal 
part of the republican army of the north. General 
Pichegru, at that juncture, was attacked by a 
cutaneous disorder which obliging him to abandon 
his command; he appointed General Moreau to 



36 



proceed with the siege and operations against Nime- 
guen, whilst he retired to Brussels, for the reco- 
very of his health. 

Nimeguen was occupied as a tete de pont, or 
advanced post, on the Waal, at this time the 
allies' chief line of defence, and the Duke of 
York's army cantoned in its front for a short time. 
It had retired across the Waal on the 19th and 
20th of October, the French having forced his 
line of advanced posts on the 19th, and threaten- 
ing a general attack with very superior forces, 
on His Royal Highness's positions. 

General Walmoden remained in the town with 
several British, Hanoverian, and Dutch Battalions. 
The 7th and lath regiments of British Dragoons 
had been employed on the advanced posts while 
the army remained on the left bank, but were after- 
wards withdrawn. 

General Moreau attacked the out posts, and 
after a smart action forced them. On the 4th of 
November the French broke .ground under the di- 
rection of General Souham, and commenced the 
construction of their works with great vigor. Gen- 
eral Count Wolmoden immediately marched out 
of the garrison with a strong corps of English and 
Allied troops, consisting of t> Battalions of British, 



37 



3 of Dutch, 4 Squadrons, 7th and 15th Dragoons, 
and & Squadrons of Hanoverian horse, for the 
purpose of obstructing the approach of the be- 
siegers. The English infantry advanced under a 
heavy fire, without returning a shot, leaped into 
the trenches, and charged the French with the 
bayonet. 

This sortie, though gallant and successful, had 
however very little effect on the general operations 
of the French ; and the loss was severe on the side 
of the garrison. Among <he wounded was General 
de Burgh, afterwards Lord Clanricarde, who com- 
manded part of the British troops employed in this 
sortie, and who subsequently remained in the town 
with the picquets, about 8500 men of the Dutch 
troops, whilst the remainder of the forces, which 
had occupied it under General Walmoden, were 
withdrawn on the night of the 6th November. 

General Moreau, clearly perceiving that the town 
could not be carried, while the Duke of York 
continued to throw in large supplies, took measures 
to cut off the communications of His Royal High- 
ness. He erected a strong battery on the right 
and another on the left of the lines of defence ; 
and these were so admirably served, that on the 
6th of November the bridge of communication, 
consisting of many boats (Dutch schuyts) was 



38 



seriously damaged, and it was with difficulty re- 
paired after some days, by Lieutenant, now Sir 
Home Popham. 

The enemies' fire, however, becoming hourly 
more destructive, His Royal Highness foreseeing 
the complete destruction of the bridge, determined 
on the 8th to withdraw the whole of the troops 
from the garrison. 

After General Walmoden had brought away the 
greater proportion of the troops, General de Burgh, 
who remained in command of the town, evacuated 
it with the British troops and a part of the Dutch. 
About four hundred of the latter, embarked on the 
flying bridge, of which during the passage, the 
swing rope was cut but by an accidental shot, when 
they surrendered, and were taken in the middle of 
the river, although they might have been towed 
across. The evacuation commenced and was com- 
pleted late at night, and the bridge, which had be- 
come nearly unpassable, was then burnt by the 
British, as was the flying bridge subsequently by 
their fire. 

Besides the above four hundred men, a few 
sick and stragglers remained behind ; they fell into 
the hands of Moreau, who immediately entered the 
city. 



39 



The French next made an unsuccessful attack 
upon the whole line of posts on the Waal, and Ge- 
neral Moreau on the 10th December directed opera- 
tions against St. Andre, a fort in the Island of Bom- 
mel, on which occasion the late Lieutenant- General 
Sir ilalph Abercrombie, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Clarke, were wounded in a sally from the fort. 
Captain, now Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Pic- 
ton, was also wounded. The affair terminated with- 
out any decisive advantage being gained by either 
army. 

The winter having set in, General Moreau, with 
the other French Generals serving in the northern 
army, represented to their government the neces- 
sity of repose to the exhausted troops, but the 
directory was deaf to their representations, being 
determined to pursue the war against Holland 
with much acrimony. Neither the climate nor 
the season, the fatigues, the privations, nor the 
victories of the troops, could induce that assembly 
to protract for a moment these measures of hostility ; 
and nature herself seemed to declare in favor of the 
republican arms. 

The difficulties attendant on an invasion of 
Holland were great. It was at all times prac- 
ticable to lay a principal part of the surface of the 
country under water; the rivers afforded strong 



40 



lines of defence, but these lines were necessarily 
much extended, and although consequently weak, 
might materially have obstructed every military 
operation during the wintry season, if the elements 
had not assisted the enemy. It, however, should 
not be lost sight of, that there are few instances 
in which the passage of a river has not finally 
been forced by a superior and determined enemy, 
when of course all the defences may be turned and 
taken in rear. 

The plans proposed for the conquest of Hol- 
land in December, 1794, were facilitated by an 
intense frost. Suddenly the season set in with 
great rigor ; the waters became capable of bearing 
armies with their artillery, stores, and ammuni- 
tion ; and it is therefore not unreasonable to 
observe, that the reduction of Holland would not 
have been effected in the winter of 1794, had the 
Waal and the Lech continued open. 

General Pichegru, convinced that the moment 
was at hand to strike a grand blow, forsook his 
repose at Brussels, and put himself at the head of 
the army. Although his health was far from being 
perfectly re-established, he arrived at head-quar- 
ters on the 27th December, and resolved to 
commence vigorous hostilities without delay ; 
which resolution he executed by the capture of 



41 



the. Fort of St. Andr6, and the Island of Bommel. 
The mercury in the thermometer was lower than 
it had been for thirty years ; the waters were 
converted into an impenetrable substance; both 
the fort and island were reduced on the S7th with- 
out bloodshed, and the Dutch troops forced 
to retire to the lines of Gorcum. A large quantity 
of cannon and stores fell to the invading army, 
and sixteen hundred men were made prisoners 
of war. 

The Island of Bommel, it should be remarked, 
was garrisoned by Dutch troops, who opposed 
little resistance here or elsewhere. Its defences 
were too extensive for the number of defenders. 
It was well provided with cannon, but without 
artillery men to work them, or a sufficient supply 
of ammunition. 

Bnis Le Due, almost impregnable from inun- 
dation, had been previously surrendered without 
almost firing a shot. Soon after, the lines of Breda, 
Oudebosche, and Swenbergen, (eight miles 
W. S. W. of Breda,) were successfully attacked, 
and the town and fortress of Grave, situated eight 
miles S. S W. of Nimeguen, which alone sustained 
a protracted siege, very creditable to its governor, 
General De Bous, a very old Swiss officer. 

F 



42 



The latter place had been left by the Dutch 
without provisions or ammunition, but these had 
been supplied by the exertions of His Royal High- 
ness the Duke of York, while his army continued 
between the Waal and Meuse. It capitulated 
to the Republican arms on the 29th of Decem- 
ber. 

Between this period (end of December) and that 
of the retreat of the British, there were various 
affairs of posts. On the 30th of December, General 
D. Dundas attacked and drove the enemy from 
Tuyl, with considerable loss of men, and four pieces 
of cannon, and obliged them to re-cross the Waal, 
every where passable on the ice. 

On the 3d and 4th of January, the enemy again 
crossed the Waal and re-occupied Tuyl, driving in 
the British advanced posts. They were repulsed by 
General D. Dundas at Gelder Malsen on the 5th, 
but General Walmoden thought proper to retire 
across the Lech on the 6th. 

On the 8th of January, Lord Cathcart, with the 
14th and £7th, and picquets of other corps, drove 
the enemy, with considerable loss of men and one 
cannon, from Bueren. The 14th and &7th British 
infantry distinguished themselves, and suffered 



43 



severely. Lieutenant-Colonel, now Sir A. Hope, 
was wounded, as was the commanding officer ^of the 
S; th, Colonel Buller. 

On the 10th, the enemy crossed the Upper Waal 
at several points, viz. Pamerden, Nimeguen, Thiel, 
&c. also forcing the Austrians to abandon Heusden. 
The allied troops which, in consequence of occasion- 
al appearance of thaw, had lingered between the 
Waal and Lech, now withdrew across the latter 
river. Lieutenant-General Abercrombie occupied 
the heights near Rhenen. 

On the 14th, the enemy attacked the whole 
line of posts from Ainham to Atneronym, the most 
serious attempt being directed against Rhenen. 
They were repulsed on all points, and particularly 
at Rhenen, by the brigade of guards and Salnqi 
infantry, under the orders of Colonel Count Som- 
breulL 

On the same night, (14th January,) Count 
Walmoden determined to retire from the Lech 
to the Yssel, which latter river the army crossed 
on the 17th and 18th, taking with him a part of 
his hospital, and consigning the remainder to the 
eare of the French, who treated them with great 
humanity. The number of sick in hospital at this 



44 



period was seven thousand, * and the severity of 
the season forbade the removal of a large propor- 
tion. Of those intended to have been left in 
the hospitals, many made an attempt to follow 
the march of the army, and fell a sacrifice 
to it. 

The two cities of Utrecht and Aruheim, and 
the fortress of Gertruydenberg were also taken by 
the French forces at this period ; the former was 
incapable of defence. The direction of the march 
of the British to Yssel, uncovered Utrecht and the 
rest of Holland. Gertruydenberg was capable of 
defence, but made no resistance. Arnheim was a 
point on the Lech, which fell with the general line 
of that river. The retreat of the British to the 
Yssel was very little, if at all, molested by the ene- 
my, but the sufferings of the troops from extreme 
cold were most severe. 

On the 18th of January, a French officer, bearing 
dispatches from General Pichegru, entered Am- 
sterdam, and on the 20th, two days afterwards, 
that General was received there as the deliverer of 
Holland. 



1 The official account states that only three hundred men 
were left to the mercy of the enemy. 



45 



Every town in the States was speedily occu- 
pied by French troops, and to complete the cata- 
logue of miracles exhibited in this campaign, a 
body of horse and light artillery fought a squadron 
of Dutch men of war frozen in the Zuyder Zee, and 
obliged them to surrender. 

After these astonishing successes, General Piche- 
gru continued in the chief command of the army. 
General Moreau was posted with his division on 
the banks of the Rhine, where, in conjunction with 
the other Generals of the Republic, they continued 
to protect its conquests, and overawe its ene- 
mies. 



1796. 

AT the opening of the campaign of this year, the 
Austrians and the French were posted in the fol- 
lowing manner. 

The Rhine separated them from the frontiers of 
Switzerland, to the environs of the town of Spires, 
where it ceased to be their common barrier. Be- 
yond that city ? the cantonments which they occu- 



46 



pied, at the distance of some leagues from each 
other, extended across the upper Palatinate, the 
Duchy of Deux Ponts, and the Hundsruck. 

The line of the imperial army passed through the 
town of Spires, Neustadt, Kayserslautern and Kus- 
sell; from thence, crossing the Nahe, terminated 
at the Rhine, in the neighbourhood of Baceharach. 
Here the Rhine again became the common separa- 
tion of both armies, and continued so to beyond 
Cologne, between the Sieg, and the town of Dus- 
seldorff*. The Austrians and French divided be- 
tween them the space between the Rhine and Dus- 
seldorff, before which the army of the latter had 
an entrenched camp. 

On the Rhine, the Imperialists possessed the 
strong fortress of Philipsburg, 1 Manheim, Mentz, 
aud Ehrenbreitstein. The French possessed, on 
the upper Rhine, the fortresses of Alsace, and on the 
lower Rhine, Dusseldorff. 



1 This fortress is considered as one of the bulwarks of the 
German Empire. The swamps round it add greatly to its 
strength. It was taken by the French in 1734, when the Duke 
of Berwick was killed at the siege ; but it was restored the 
following year, by the treaty of Vienna. In 1799 it was four 
times blockaded by the French republicans without success. 
It now belongs to Baden. 



I 



47 



The Imperial forces, including Saxons and other 
contingents of the German Empire, amounted to 
150,000 men. The French force exceeded 
160,000 men, and was under the direction of 
Generals Jourdan and Moreau. 

On the 21st of May, 1796, the Austrians put an 
end to the armistice agreed upon towards the con- 
clusion of the preceding year, and on the 31st, 
General Jourdan, commanding the army of the 
Sainbre and the Meuse, made an advanced move- 
ment on the two banks of the Rhine. This opera- 
tion gave rise to some trifling affairs of posts. 

The weakest points of the Austrian strength 
were on the right of the Rhine, and to which the 
French directed the greater part of their force. 
The Prince of Wirtemberg commanded on the 
right bank : his corps did not exceed 20,000 men ; 
and with that small force he had to defend the 
Sieg, to cover Ehrenbreitstein, aud to line his bank 
of the Rhine. The General took up a position in 
front of the Sieg, where he was attacked on the 1st 
of June by a principal part of General Jourdan's 
army, under the orders of General Kleber. 

The contest continued for some hours, but the 
Austrians were finally obliged to retire, and take 
up the position Uckerath. Their loss was very 



48 



great. According to the statement of the French 
General, it amounted to 3400 men, of whom 1000 
were made prisoners. Before the Austrians were 
established in Uckerath, that position was outflanked 
and turned by the French, and Wirtemberg was obli- 
ged to fall baek on Altenkirchen. 

On the 4th of June, the French again attacked the 
Imperialists at the latter place ; the post was car- 
ried, and the Austrians routed with great loss. This 
discomfiture forced the Imperialists to leave un- 
covered Khrenbreitstein, and retire behind the 
Lahn. The French immediately invested that for- 
tress. 

The Archduke, alarmed by these successes, de- 
termined on marehing to the assistance of his Gene- 
ral. On the 6th, he made a rapid movement towards 
Mentz, and three days afterwards passed the Rhine. 
Apprehensive that Jourdan would also cross that 
river, and join General Kleber, the object of the 
Archduke was to attack the latter without delay. 
Securing the defence of the lower Lahn, he rapidly 
advanced against Lefebvre, who commanded the left 
wing of the French army. On the 15th, his right 
wing, under General Werneck, passed the Lahn and 
the Dille at Westlaer. 

The Austrians attacked the French in their posi- 



49 



don at the latter place, and for some time without 
success : towards evening, however, they were rein- 
forced by some Saxon cavalry, and they instantly 
advanced against the French with the utmost reso- 
lution. Some corps of Austrian cuirassiers charged 
the French in their position on the heights and broke 
them, whilst a body of grenadiers attacked their cen- 
tre with equal success. The French retreated, 
and took up a second position; here they were 
again defeated. 

On the lower Rhine, the Austrians were also suc- 
cessful, and the French were obliged to fall back on 
the Sieg. The former followed up their good for- 
tune, and Genera] Jourdan, who on the 12th of June 
had passed the Neuweid, was forced to re-pass it on 
the 18th with his right wing. 

The Archduke having sent forward General 
Kray with 11,000 men in pursuit of General Kleber, 
who, with a force of 25,000 men, was retiring to- 
wards the Sieg, that officer on the 20th came up 
with him. But the French General, finding him- 
self superior in numbers, attacked General Kray, 
and carried almost every point of his position. Not- 
withstanding this early success, three Austrian 
battalions, by their gallant conduct, turned the 
tide of victory ; unshaken by the French artillery, 
they suffered nine battalions to advance to within 

G 



50 



a hundred yards, and, charging them with fixed bay- 
onets, put them completely to the rout. 

The Saxon and Austrian cavalry now rallied and 
returned to the charge, and finally put a stop to the 
progress of the French. The loss on the side of the 
latter was very great ; in killed, wounded, and pri- 
soners it exceeded 2000 ? that of the Imperialists 
amounted to 600. General Kleber was forced to 
rapidly retreat to Dusseldorfll 

We now turn to the operations of the army of the 
Rhine and Moselle, under the command of General 
Moreau. 

At the period that the Archduke quitted the 
Hundsruck, Field Marshal Wurmser withdrew the 
Imperial troops from the lines of Hpirebach to a 
position before the fort of the Rhine, opposite to 
Manheim; his right extended to Frankenthal, and 
was covered, as well as his front, by inundation and 
canals, that joined to the little river of Rhebach, 
'which bounded and defended his left. 

On the 14th and 80th of June, Moreau made a 
feint attack on the positions of the Austrians. He 
continued to keep that army constantly on the alert: 
and employed them in making dispositions to repulse 
an attempt on their lines, which from his masterly 



51 



manoeuvres they were led to expect would be sudden 
and decisive. 1 

Unexpectedly, and with the utmost celerity, Gen- 
eral Moreau made a forced march with nearly the 
whole of his army, and arrived at Strasburg before 
his movement was suspected by the Imperialists. 
This project, conceived by an expansive mind, and 
executed with such brilliant success, began to de- 
velope itself. The islands of the Rhine were all 
either overflowed, or in the possession of the Aus- 
trians, whom it was necessary for General Moreau to 
dislodge, previously to his grand attempt to cross 
that river. 



On the night of the 20th, General Moreau at- 
tacked the Austrian posts, and with such determi- 
ned courage, that the latter were driven to the ne- 
cessity of crossing the Rhine with so much rapid- 
ity, that the bridges of communication with the 



1 L'attaque de Missenheim et celles de Beclair et de la 
redoute d'lsaac, qui n'avoient d 'autre objet que de detourner 
1 'attention de l'ennemi, ont parfaitement atteint leur but. Ainsi, 
ajant fait connoitre les empiacemens de ces quatres attaques 
secondares, et trace le tableau des forces qu'on y avoit desti* 
nees, nous ne rentrerons plus dans le detail de ce qui s'y est 
passe ; le recit en seroit d'un interet mediocre, et detourneroit 
l'attention qui doit se fixer principalement sur la veritable at- 
taque, celle de Kehl. Dedon's Precis Historique. 



52 



German side remained in possession of the victors. 
This circumstance greatly accelerated the plans of 
General Moreau. 

Having taken all the cannon found in the positions 
he had forced, General Moreau was thereby re- 
lieved of a difficulty which had arisen from his defi- 
ciency in artillery. With the promptitude and vigor 
of his character, Moreau resolved to pass the bridges 
immediately, and assault that most important barrier 
between France and Germany, the fortress of Kehl, 
by the possession of which, the French would obtain 
an en trau ee into Suabia, and become masters of a 
large portion of that circle. 

General Moreau had previously, in order to con- 
ceal his design, attempted the passage of the Rhine 
at various points, but having now a free commu- 
nication with Kehl by means of the bridge, he 
immediately crossed with the cannon taken in the 
forts, and assaulted Kehl in the most determined 
manner. Success in the fullest extent crowned 
his enterprise, and the General obtained com- 
plete possession of the fortress with very little 
loss. 1 



1 For the information of military readers, I shall also give 
in the Appendix, General Dedon's details of these operations 
and those immediately subsequent. They will be elucidated 
by a reference to the accompanying interesting map. 



53 



Marshal "Wurmser, with 30,000 of the men 
under his command, had been called to Italy, and 
General Latour succeeded to the command of the 
army of the Upper Rhine. This officer, on 
finding that Moreau had passed the Rhine, made 
every exertion to arrest his progress. He directed 
the Prince de Conde with his corps to move towards 
Offenburg ; this officer on the 27th joined at Biehl, 
before Offenburg, some Austrian detachments, and 
some troops of the circle, which had been driven 
from the camp at Wildstedt. 

On the following morning, the French, having 
brought forward several strong columns, the Impe- 
rialists were obliged to abandon Offenburg. This 
movement was made by the French with the view 
of preventing the Prince de Conde from effecting a 
junction with several small Austrian corps, which 
were marching to his assistance, and thus to divide 
the Imperial army of the Upper Rhine. 

General Moreau divided his force, amounting to 
71,581 Infantry, and 6,6 1 6 Cavalry, into three 
columns. The right under Ferino, was directed 
against the corps of Conde and General Frolich. 
The object of Ferino was to drive back these 
corps uuto the Brisgaw. He experienced some 
success, and took the town of Bibrach. St. Cyr 
commanded the centre — he forced, the passes 



54 



along the vallies of Renchen and Kintzig, and on 
the 4th of July gained the town of Freydenstadt. 
Desaix commanded the left column, and was 
directed to act against Latour, and the Imperialists, 
who were rapidly approaching from the Lower 
Rhine. The French General pressed forward to 
attack Latour, before the arrival of the latter. On 
the 29th of June he gained considerable advantage 
over him at Renchen; the Austrians lost 500 men 
and 10 pieces of cannon. On the following days 
he again obtained ground, and on the 4th of July, 
pushed forward as far as the river Murg, and the 
city of Rastadt. General Latour took up a posi- 
tion in front of this river, and the 5th, Moreau, 
who had arrived with a reinforcement to Desaix, 
made an attack along his whole line. The action 
was well contested, and lasted the whole day — it 
ended to the disadvantage of the Austrians, who 
on the following day were obliged to retreat to 
Etlingen. 

The army of the Sambre and Meuse having been 
defeated by the Archduke Charles, and driven to 
cross both the Rhine and Sieg, that officer, leaving 
30,000 men under Lieutenant-General Wartensle- 
ben, advanced by forced marches towards the Upper 
Rhine, and arrived on the banks of the Murg, 
at the moment Latour was giving way to the tide of 
success that attended the arms of Moreau. The fate 



55 



of this part of Germany was now to be decided, and 
the Austrians, resolved, if possible, to repel their 
victorious enemy, made every preparation to accom- 
plish that object. 

In the mean time, however, Jourdan, finding 
that the Archduke had marched to the Upper 
Rhine, immediately resumed offensive operations ; 
he advanced to the Sieg, and on the Snd of July, 
passed the Rhine, and effected a junction between 
different divisions of the army of the Sambre and 
Meuse. 

General Jourdan now marched against the 
Austrian General Wartensleben, whose foree, as 
already observed, did not exceed 30,000 men, whilst 
that of the French amounted to 65,000. On the 3rd 
and 4th of July, slight affairs took place in the vici- 
nity of Montebauer, and the Imperialists were oblig- 
ed to retire behind the Lahn, which river General 
Jourdan's army passed on the 9th in three 
columns. 

On the same day, an action ensued, but which was 
attended with partial success. — The next day (the 
10th) General Jourdan attacked all the points occu- 
pied by the Imperialists between tho Maine and the 
Lahn, and after much fighting, the Imperialists 



56 



were obliged to rapidly retreat to Bergen, in order 
to cover Frankfort, the depot for their provisions 
and magazines. The following day, the fort of 
Koenigstein was invested, and which capitulated 
three days afterwards ; and on the l£th, General 
Jourdan arrived before Frankfort, into which city 
the Imperial army had retired. 

Having ineffectually summoned the Magistrates 
of Frankfort to open the gates, the French bom- 
barded the town on the night of the 13th, and set 
fire to it. In the mean time, General Wartensleben 
removed his provisions and magazines. On the 14th, 
he quitted the city, and retreated in the direction 
of Aschaffenburg and Wurtzburg, with the view 
of effecting a communication with the Archduke's 
force. 

The latter, who was placed between two victori- 
ous armies, perceived that no other alternative 
was left him than to attack General Moreau with 
every force he could bring into the field ; but as Ge- 
nerals Hotze and Werneck were, expected to join 
Mm with reinforcements, consisting of seven battal- 
ions, and twelve squadrons, he delayed the attack, 
although his force already equalled that under 
Moreau, in point of infantry, and exceeded it, by 
ten thousand in cavalry. 



57 



The Archduke conceived that he should be 
enabled to debouch a considerable force upon the 
rear of the French by the valley of Murg, Olbach, 
and Cappel, and from being enabled to oppose to 
Moreau, in front, his numerous cavalry, that 
officer would be obliged to repass the Rhine. 

The right of the Archduke's army extended to 
the Rhine near to the village of Durmersheim : his 
left occupying the valley of the river Alb 1 and the 
town and mountains of Frauenalb, appuyed upon 
Rotensolhe. 

Moreau was posted in front of, and along the 
Murg ; his left at Rastadt, and his right in front of 
Guertsbaeh. 

Finding that the Archduke only waited the 
arrival of further reinforcements to commence the 
attack, General Moreau, on the morning of the 
9th, reinforced his right with almost the whole of 
the centre column under St. Cyr, and attacked the 
Archduke at every point from the mountains to the 
sources of the Alb. The principal efforts of the 
French were directed against the Austrian left. 
Four vigorous charges were made in this quarter, 

1 This river takes its source near Rotensolhe, 



58 



which the Imperialists firmly withstood and repul- 
sed, but the fifth, which was made with the bayonet, 
decided the well- contested engagement in favor of 
General Moreau. 1 

The loss of the Austrians was very great in 

killed, and the French took twelve hundred pri- 
soners. 

This decisive battle gave to the French army a 
complete command of the Upper Rhine, and 
reduced the Austrians to the necessity of abandon- 
ing the cities of Manheim and Mentz, together with 
the strong holds of Ehrenbreitstein, and Philips- 
burgh, to the mercy of the conquerors. 

At this epocha, the army of the Sambre and 
Meuse, which, after acquiring the most brilliant 

* Apres avoir ete repousses vigoureusement a quatre attaqucs 
successives, entreprises par la 93 clemi brigade, et ramenes 
chaque fois jusqu' au pied de la montagne, on se determina a 
une cinquieme charge, pour laquelle on avoit reserve les 106 
et 109 demi brigades. On se forma en colonne, et l'on marcha 
avec autant d'ordre que la nature du terrain le permettoit. 
Cette derniere tentative reussit completement : on parvint sta- 
le plateau, et Pennemi fut enfonce et mis en deroute. Nous le 
suivimes la bayonette dans les reins: nous lui tuames 
beaucoup de monde, et nous fimes prisonniers pres de douze 
cens hommes, dont il y avoient douze officiers et un officier 
superieur. [Precis Historique. 



59 



successes, had continued rapidly to advance, arrived 
on the banks of the Stein, and the Imperialists, 
finding that they could not possibly hold any posi- 
tion on the Rhine, while pressed by these two 
armies determined on retiring towards the Danube, 
there to recruit and concentrate their foreeso 

The vast plans conceived by General Moreau 
promised to be every- where attended with success. 
His victory at Etlingen was followed by the reduc- 
tion of Freyburg, the capital of the Brisgau, and a 
place of much strength, of which he gained posses- 
sion with little resistance. 

Stutgard, the residence of the Princes of Wir- 
temberg, next fell to his conquering bands, and in 
a short time his troops traversed unopposed through 
the rich, populous, and extensive circle of Suabia, 
The cities of Ulm and Donawert, on the Danube, 
also became subject to the force of his arms; in both 
of which he placed French garrisons. 

The army under General Jourdan had at this 
period overrun Franconia, and was advancing to- 
wards Ratisbon, whilst General Moreau was at 
the same time marching from Suabia, of which he 
had completed the reduction by taking the places 
above-mentioned, Ulm and Donawert. Master of 
both sides of the Danube, Moreau next proposed 



60 



to pass the Lech, flowing between the two circles of 
Bavaria and *uabia, but the Austrians, apprised of 
bis intention and anxious to arrest the calamities that 
had overspread their country, opposed his design 
with a strong corps which they had collected for 
that purpose. 

The passage of the Lech was undertaken on the 
£4th of August, and obstinately disputed by the 
Austrians ; Moreau, however, forced it with the 
utmost resolution, near the city of Augsburg, and 
compelled the Austrians to retire into the country 
behind them. 

The successes of the French armies created an 
alarm at the court of Vienna almost equal to that 
experienced when Maria Theresa fled from the 
capital. The Emperor regarded himself in the 
same situation, and formed projects for abandoning 
Vienna.— The operations of the French menaced 
an invasion of Bohemia, unless they were by some 
immediate step, impeded in their career of vic- 
tory. 

The Emperor made appeals to the people of Bo- 
hemia and Hungary, exhorting them to take up arms, 
and setting forth the exactions of the French not 
only in money, but in every article of necessity or of 






61 



use. The latter 1 operated successfully on the 
minds of many Germans, and they instantly exhibited 
a spirit alive to their danger. 

The Diet, however, of the German empire was 
assembled at Ratisbon, and all the Deputies of the 
Princes and States of the Empire, except those 
from Austria and Bohemia, resolved on opening a 
negociation for peace with France, and a decree of 
remonstration to the Emperor Francis was also 
agreed upon, recommending him to conclude a peace 
with the French Republic, 

Surrounded with difficulties, the Archduke deter- 
mined on making a rapid movement to the right of 
Wartensleben. He learnt that an enterprising offi- 
cer, General. Bernadotte, the present Crown Prince 
of Sweden, had been detached against Ratisbon, 
and leaving a strong corps of observation under 

1 The Duke of Wirtemberg had been assessed four millions ; 
the circle of Suabia, twelve millions : besides, to furnish eight 
thousand horses, five thousand oxen, one hundred and fifty 
thousand quintals of corn, one hundred thousand sacks of 
oats, a proportionate quantity of hay, and one hundred thou- 
sand pair of shoes. Eight millions were demanded from the 
circle of Franconia, with a very large supply of horses-— Great 
•sums were required from the bankers of Frankfort, Wurtsburg, 
Bamberg, Nuremberg, together with 'an immense quantity of 
Other articles 3 for the subsistence and clothing of the French 
armies. Vide Annual Register. 1796. 



62 



General Latour, to watch and report upon the 
motions of General Moreau, he advanced towards 
that city. 

On the 17th of August, he crossed the Danube 
at Ingolstadt, with the intent of throwing himself 
between Ratisbon and General Bernadotte. On the 
same day, Jourdan attacked Wartensleben in his 
encampment at Sultzbach — the army of the latter 
had received some detachments from the Archduke, 
and was more than equal in number to the French. 
They defended themselves with the greatest obsti- 
nacy : the conflict lasted from early in the morning, 
until eleven at night, when the French obtained pos- 
session of the ground on which the battle had been 
fought. 

Jourdan, during the engagement, had directed a 
strong division under General Championet to march 
towards Augsburg, to prevent the Austrians there 
stationed, from coming to the aid of those at Sultz- 
bach. The French General, on his rout to Augs- 
burg, fell in with the Austrians, and attacked them 
with so much impetuosity, that they were obliged 
to fall back on that town. Early on the 28th, the 
French army moved towards the Austrians, who 
had strongly posted themselves in front of Am- 
berg. The latter did not wait the attack of 
their enemy, and forced him from the position he 



6 



Q 



had taken. After a hard-fought action, the French 
regained their post, and following up their success, 
made themselves masters of the heights before 
Amberg, and the Austrians were obliged to retreat, 
across the Naab, and wait the arrival of reinforce- 
ments. 

The Archduke Charles no sooner heard of the 
defeat of Wartensleben at Amberg, and his subse- 
quent retreat behind the Naab, than he altered the 
direction of his march, and advanced to Hemman. 
On the £Qth, he reached the latter place, and 
M. General Nauendorff, commanding his vanguard, 
immediately proceeded to take possession of the 
height of Taswang, while Lieutenant-General Hotz 
marched with a column towards Bellugriess to 
secure the Archduke's left, and the road from Ra- 
tisbon to Nuremberg. On the ££d, Nauendorff at- 
tacked the division under the orders of General 
Bernadotte, at the village of Teining, within 
a few miles of Ratisbon, and succeeded in dis- 
lodging and compelling him to fall back on Neu- 
markt. The next day, the Austrian General, 
reinforced by the column under the Archduke, 
again attacked Bernadotte, drove him from his 
position, and as far as the neighbourhood of Alt- 
dorf. 

By these successes, the Archduke was placed 



64 



upon the right flank, and even in the rear of Gene- 
ral Jourdan's army, who was ho longer able to 
contend with the united armies of the Archduke 
and Wartensleben. On the 24th, the two latter 
formed in order of battle with the intention of sur- 
rounding Jourdan. The plan proposed was, that 
Wartensleben should assail him in front, and tha 
Archduke take him in flank and rear. 

The inferiority of the French General in point of 
strength, obliged him to make an immediate re- 
treat, and abandon all the posts which he occupied, 
and retire to Amberg. His retreat was, however, 
conducted with equal judgment and spirit. I( 
commenced on the S4th of August, and till his ar- 
rival at Wurtsburg on the 2d of the following 
month, it was a series of encounters and skir- 
mishes ; wherein the superiority of his adversaries 
in numbers, aided by hordes of peasantry, who fell 
upon and attacked the French from every quar- 
ter, rendered all resistance ineffectual. 

On the 2d of September, Jourdan made a reso- 
lute stand, defeated General Stzaray, and would 
have totally destroyed the troops under the Aus- 
trian General's command, had not the Archduke, 
with his whole army, arrived in time to relieve hint 
from his perilous situation. 



65 



General Jourdan now pursued his retreat, and 
from the sixth to the sixteenth, a continuation of 
obstinate engagements took place, and in which 
the French were frequently successful. The Arch- 
duke, however, concentrating his force for a gene- 
ral battle, the French withdrew from their posts 
on the Lahn, and made good their retreat to the 
Sieg. 

Here terminated an expedition, which at its 
commencement promised the most successful issue ; 
and General Jourdan becoming seriously indisposed 
from the fatigue he had undergone, resigned the 
command of the army of the Sambre and Meuse to 
General Bournonville, who, during the remainder of 
this eventful campaign, kept the Austrians opposed 
to him in continual check. 

Flushed with its successes, the army of the Arch- 
duke Charles now became anxious to meet the army 
of the Rhine and Moselle, and compel its General, 
Moreau, to abandon the conquests he had made in 
Germany. 

I have already observed that the Archduke, on 
marching to the relief of Wartensleben, left a strong 
corps under General Latour to watch the move- 
ments of General Moreau. Several affairs had 
taken place between these officers, in which, how- 

I 



66 



ever, the good fortune or superior talents of Moreau, 
gave success to the French arms. The expulsion 
of General Jourdan's army rendered it impossible 
for the army of the Rhine and Moselle to maintain 
its ground in the heart of Germany, and Moreau 
came to the determination of moving back to the 
Rhine. Of the subsequent movements of General 
Moreau during the campaign of 1796, I shall 
here give the account published at Paris by an 
officer, General Dedon, chief of his staff. 



--»&« 



Commencement of the retreat of the army of the 
Rhine and Moselle — Operations of the army from 
the %£th Fructidor (10 September Old Style) 
to the %7th. 

PREVIOUS to commencing a narrative of this 
celebrated retreat, it is necessary to point out the 
respective positions previously occupied by the dif- 
ferent armies. 



The first division of the right wing of the army 
of the Rhine and Moselle was divided into two 






67 



brigades : one (Paillard,) was posted before Bre- 
genlz ; the other (Carreau,) at Kempten, opposed 
to the corps of Generals Wolff and St. Julien, 
whilst General Frolich's corps was at the foot of 
the Tyrolese mountains, near the sources of the 
Iser. 

The advanced guard of the second division of the 
right wing (Abatucci) was at Munich, opposed to 
the corps under Conde, posted on the opposite 
side of the Iser : the remainder of the right wing 
(Ferino) was at Fievsingen, and at Mosbourg; 
the centre (St. Cyr,) the left wing (Dessaix,) 
and the reserve (Bourcier,) occupied the position of 
Geisenfeld, which became the tete de pont of 
Ingolstadt. 

The command of the centre of the Austrian 
army was divided between the Generals Latour, 
Mercantin, and Deway ; it was encamped in the 
neighbourhood of Land shut, a part behind the 
Iser. The division of Nauendorff at Abens- 
berg. 

On the 24th Fructidor, General Dessaix assem- 
bled before the tete de pout of Ingolstadt, the 
troops destined to march under his orders, in the 
direction of Nuremberg, for the purpose of harass- 
ing the rear of the Archduke Charles's army. In 



68 



the night of the 24th, he marched to Neubourg, 
where he crossed the Danube, and advanced by 
the road to Aichstett. The same night the army 
quitted its position at Geisenfeld to return to 
Neubourg. As this was a very difficult march, 
the army halted at Reich erzoffen, behind the Paar ; 
the advanced guard remained during the day in 
the environs of Neustadt and Neubourg, and at 
night retired to Reicherzoffen and Bornbach. The 
corps under Ferino at the same time quitted the 
banks of the Iser, and retired towards Dachau, 
and on the following day took up a position behind 
the Paar, in front of Friedberg, in which it was 
directed to maintain itself, to cover the bridges of 
the Lech. 

On the &6th, General Dessaix's corps advanced 
beyond Aichstett, and detached small parties still 
further in advance. The latter fell in with some 
detachments of the enemy, which they routed. The 
operations of this and the following day were 
directed in such manner that the army should take 
up a new pdSHiou behind Unterstadt. A corps was 
left in front of Neubourg, and the posts were ad- 
vanced to Pcetmes. 

General Latour no sooner had learnt the move- 
ments of the French army, and the march of 
Dessaix, than he recrossed the Danube at Nauen- 



69 



dorff, to follow him. He directed the corps of 
Mercantin and Deway to rapidly advance together 
against Neubourg, whilst he took up a position at 
Shrobenhausen and Reicherzoffen. The corps of 
Prince Conde also moved from in front of Munich 
to Aicha, and that under General Frolich marched 
to Landsberg, there to cross the Iser and menace 
the French in their rear. 



Battle of JSTeubourg — Movements of the 
Armies from the 28th Fructidor (I4£ft Sep- 
tember old style) until the 2nd complement 
taire. 

UNDER the impression that the principal part 
of the Austrian *army had crossed the Danube, 
the remainder of the corps of Dessaix and a part 
of the centre of the French army, marched to the 
right bank of that river, in order to cover the move- 
ment of the General upon Nuremberg; whilst 
only four battalions of infantry, three squadrons 
of dragoons, and four of hussars, with four pieces 
of light artillery, were left to cover Neubourg. 



70 



On the 28th Fructidor, the Austrians advanc- 
ed under the cover of a very thick fog, unexpected- 
ly attacked the French troops at Neubourg, and 
before they had time to improve their positions. 
A strong body of cavalry wished to debouch in 
the little plain of Zell, under the protection of the 
infantry, covered by a wood ; but were twice re- 
pulsed by the 10th French dragoons and the 7th 
Hussars. Notwithstanding the firm resistance 
made by the French troops, they were in the end 
obliged to yield to superior numbers. One piece 
of light artillery and a caisson remained for some- 
time in the power of the Austrians, and they 
obtained a series of successes until five in the after- 
noon. At that period, the infantry of Duhesme's 
division having arrived from the opposite bank of 
the Danube, boldly advanced against the Austrian 
cavalry, and the fortune of the day was changed 
in favor of the French. The Austrians were 
attacked in the position they had gained by three 
battalions of fresh troops ; they were driven from 
Zell and the woods, and obliged to rapidly fall 
back as far as Pruck, where they received reinforce- 
ments, and the French, who had advanced to 
this village, were in their turn under the neces- 
sity of retreating. The latter, however, effected 
their retreat without any loss, covered by the 7th 
regiment of Hussars and the 20th Chasseurs, 
which troops kept in check the Austrians, and 



71 



frequently charged them with success. The Aust- 
rian cavalry, in retiring by the wood of Wechering, 
which is interspersed with marshes, were success- 
fully attacked and thrown into confusion, with the 
loss of twenty-four horses, and a like number in 
prisoners. 

A Dense battalion of Light Infantry, and two 
complete squadrons of the 9th French regiment of 
Hussars, were stationed as an advanced guard at 
Peetmes to observe the operations on the Aicha 
and Ausbourg roads. They were attacked by the 
corps of Conde, supported by the regiment of 
Modeue, lately arrived from the interior of Austria, 
and forced to yield to such superior numbers, 
the French abandoned Peetmes, and retired to 
Pruck. 

On the same day, the detached corps of General 
Dessaix advanced as far as Heydeck, and thence 
sent forward some parties, who brought in informa- 
tion that the Archduke had adopted measures for 
preventing his convoys from pursuing the route to 
Nuremberg, and for drawing them from Bohemia 
by Egra and Bamberg. These accounts proving 
that this expedition was too late, and that it could 
not succeed in intercepting the Archduke's convoys, 
the Commander in Chief directed General Dessaix 



72 



who would otherwise have been cut off, to make a 
retrograde movement, and rejoin the main army. 

On the 29th, the centre and a part of the left 
wing repassed the Danube, and took up a position 
between Rornfeld and Neubourg. The French 
attacked the Austrians in the woods of Zell and 
Pruck, and repulsed them as far as Wechering ; 
but the corps which had been previously at Poet- 
mes, and which the day before had retired to 
Pruck, was again repulsed as far as Singnung. 
Some parties of the Austrians penetrated on the 
road from Rain to Neubourg, which the above 
check had left uncovered : they made prisoners a 
French Commissary, a courier, and some waggons 
of provisions. 

On the 30th, General Dessaix's corps having 
repassed the Danube, the whole of the French 
army was drawn up on the right bank of that river. 
It became necessary to deploy the troops, who 
were too much confined in their present position, 
and to advance them on the roads leading to the 
bridges of the Lech, in order that they might 
repass that river without difficulty, or advantage- 
ously attack General Latour, in case he should 
make a movement in the direction of Friedberg. 
To accomplish this end, the French army was 
obliged to move on its right. On the 30th the 



73 



centre marched to Walden, in order to cover the 
road from Rain, and drive back the Austrian corps 
which had penetrated by Pcetmes. At the same 
time Ferino made a move in front of Friedberg, 
towards Aicha, which compelled the Prince de 
Conde's corps to retire. A part of the latter, in 
retreating by the route from Aicha to Munich, 
was surprised in the night by a battalion of the 96th 
demi-brigade, (which was there stationed in ambush,) 
thrown into confusion, and suffered considerably. 

On the 1st Complementaire, the Austrians were 
driven intirely from Pcetmes, and forced to retreat 
behind some marshes. The French army made a 
flank movement upon its right, and took up a posi- 
tion having its left at Pcetmes, with a flanking corps 
to cover Neubourg, and its right near Geindels- 
dorff, upon the road from Rain to Munich. 

On the 2nd the French army continued to march 
on its flank, and moved its right to the Paar, behind 
Groshausen, and its left to Gemdelsdorff. The 
French advanced guards drove back those of the 
Austrian army as far as Schrobenhausen, and took 
one hundred prisoners. The right wing, (Ferino,) 
made an advanced move on the Munich 
road, and re-established its communication with the 
main French army. 



74 



Considerable sortie made by the garrisons of 
Jkianheim and Fhilipsburg — Mack of Kehl on 
the 2nd Complementaire, iSth of September, 
Old Style. 

IT should be remembered that after the battle of 
Etilingen, the French army in advancing upon the 
Neckar, 1 left a body of troops, under the orders 
of General Scherb, consisting of the 68th demi- 
brigade, and two squadrons of the 19th regiment 
of dragoons, to observe the garrisons of Manheim 
and Piiilipsburg. Although this corps was much 
inferior to the united strength of the garrisons, 
and consequently far too weak to fulfil its object, 
and keep open a communication with the French 
army, at the distance to which the latter had arrived, 
the Austrians made no attack on it, whilst the 
French armies were successful. After the first 
victory of the Archduke, and when the armed pea- 
gantry attacked the convoys and harassed the rear 
of the French armies, some troops from Philips- 
burg advanced on the Stutgard road to Pfortz- 
heim. 



1 This German river rises in the County of Hohenberg, in 
Swabia, flows by Rothweil, Tubingen, Esslingen, Heilbron, 
and Heidelberg, and enters the Rhine at Manheim. 



75 



General Scherb, foreseeing that he would be at* 
tacked on the 19th Fructidor in his position at 
Bruehsal, by the garrison of Philipsburg, sup- 
ported by a detachment from that of Manheim^ 
and a column of peasants, determined to be before 
hand with the Imperialists, and to attack them on 
the 18th at Obstadt. The advantage of this ac- 
tion was in favor pf the French, who vigorously 
charged their enemy with the bayonet in his 
different positions, and occasioned him much loss. 
On the 20th the Austrians again showed them- 
selves in the same positions, and were again repul- 
sed : — the following days they spent in skirmishing 
with the French advanced posts, in order to mask 
their intended operations, viz. the turning of their 
opponent, and thus to cut off his retreat. 

On the &7th, at the approach of night, the small 
corps detached upon the French flank, were vigo- 
rously attacked, and fenced to retire upon the prin- 
cipal corps. This affair appearing the prelude of 
one more important, General Scherb determined 
to retire on KehL In this decision he was confirmed 
by intelligence that a considerable corps of infantry 
was marching against him, and that some cavalry, 
detached by the Archduke, under the orders of 
Colonel Merfeld, was arrived. This cavalry formed 
the advanced guard of the corps the Archduke had 
sent to manoeuvre upon the rear of the French. 



76 



It was to be attached to the garrisons of Manheim 
and Philipsburg, and under the orders of Gene- 
ral Petrasch, Commandant of Manheim, to form 
a considerable army, the object of which was to 
defeat General Scherbos division, gain possession 
of Kehl, march to the valleys of the Renchen and 
Kintzig, and thus cut off all communication be- 
tween this division and the French army. 

In the night of the &7tb Frurfidor, General 
Scherb commenced his retreat. At the village of 
Grumbach he found the Austrians, who had pre- 
ceded him, and be was under the necessity of 
forcing his way sword in band. The Austrians 
fell back on Weingarten, and there waited for the 
French ; they were, however, again obliged to fall 
back, after a contest which lasted one hour, and 
the French continuing their retreat, arrived at 
Kehl on the £9th, at eleven at night, after having 
been continually harassed on their flank and rear, 
and obliged to cut a passage through the Austrian 
lines. This retreat was admirably conducted. At 
its commencement the French division was nearly 
surrounded, and it only escaped from skilful 
movements, and partly disguising its march. 

After the passage of the Rhine, the French had 
labored to strengthen the fortifications of Kehl, 
they had also commenced an entrenched camp to 



77 



augment its defences (marked 5, 6, 7* 8? 9, and 10 
in the accompanying map,) but the outline of 
these new works was hardly completed, 1 and the 
old ones had not yet received all the repairs which 
were necessary to prevent them from being carried 
by main force. The garrison at this time consis- 
ted of only one battalion of the S4th demi-brigade, 
and some detachments of the 104th, who had been 
stationed there on account of the works. In fact, 
the Commander in chief, General Moreau, who had 
foreseen that the corps which he had left at Bruch- 
sal, would be obliged to retire, and that Kehl would 
be threatened, had detached from the army a demi- 
brigade of infantry, and a regiment of cavalry, with 
instructions to advance, by forced marches, to the 
support of this fortress: but this corps, which set out 
from the army on the SSnd Fructidor, was not yet 
arrived, and General Petrasch, on the intelligence 
he had received, had detached Lieutenant- Colonel 
Aspre, with two battalions, to occupy the valley 
of Renchen, and to strengthen this position by 
by Mbatis, whilst three divisions of cavalry obser- 
ved that of Kintzig, 



1 Every difficulty was experienced in the management of 
these works, and which much retarded their construction. 
The peasants of the Rhine, who were at first employed, seized 
every opportunity of escaping from their superintendents, s6 
that but a few workmen out of the number appointed were ac- 
tually engaged in the construction of the works 



78 



It must be admitted that the garrison of Kehl, 
when united to the corps under General Scherb, 1 
was weak to defend a post of such importance, and 
to protect such extensive works, and that all circum- 
stances could not be more favorable if) the Aus- 
trians for attacking this tete de pont, of which the 
situation was truly alarming. The most prudent 
step, perhaps, would have been to abandon the 
new, and concentrate the small forces they had in 
the old works, which might have speedily been 
completed, and to have placed in the Isle of the 
Rhine, the small body of cavalry, consisting of 
two squadrons of the 19th dragoons, to which they 
had attached some carabineers, and some of the 
15th cavalry. The 30th Fmctidor and the 1st 
Complementaire would have been sufficient for 
accomplishing these dispositions; but instead of 
which, the corps of General Scherb, with the 
cavalry, was left in the position it had taken on ar- 
riving upon the right bank of the Kintzig, in front 
of the bridge. It may be observed, that it is only 
to the obstinate courage of the French soldiers, 
and their astonishing bravery, that the Republic 
had to attribute at this period the safely of Kehl, 
for the preservation of which no defensive or judi- 
cious measure had been adopted. 2 

* This corps was extremely fatigued by its retreat, and the 
continual actions it had to sustain in effecting it. 

a There is no doubt that the French had not expected to 
have been so soon attacked ; and as the troops were much 



79 



On the 2nd Complementaire, before the break of 
day, the Austrians, divided into three columns, 
warmly attacked Kehl. The principal column, com- 
posed of the regiment of Ferdinand, and commanded 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Ocskay, crossed the Kint- 
zig above the French position, and made a winding 
movement to reach the dykes of the Rhine above 
Kehl. Under the protection of these dykes, and 
conducted by some peasants who had been employ- 
ed in the works of Kehl, they advanced as far 
as the horn work on the Upper Rhine, (marked 
4 1 ) and entered by the gorge, which was still 
obstructed by houses and gardens. Another co- 
fatigued, they delayed till the following day, the adoption of 
better dispositions. They might perhaps have had reasons, of 
which I am ignorant, for remaining in so disadvantageous a 
position for the defence of Kehl, and their own safety. I 
have no intention of throwing blame on any person, but I 
have not been able to dissemble, especially as the first success 
of the Austrians is to be attributed to these dispositions. 
However, the conduct of every French soldier in this affair 
was such as to make ample amends. 

1 It has been stated that some Austrian officers, disguised as 
peasants, engaged themselves as workmen at Kehl, in order to 
reconnoitre with greater facility, and to direct the attack : it 
has also been asserted that from eleven o'clock at night the 
Austrians secretly introduced themselves into a garden conti- 
guous to the right bank of the horn work of the Upper Rhine. 
These assertions, although not fully authenticated, are not 
destitute of foundation . 



80 

lumn, under the command of Major Busch, also 
composed of the regiment of Ferdinand, marched 
by Sundheim, upon the village of Kehl, of which 
it obtained possession. The third column, consist- 
ing of three companies of Servians, and a division 
of Blankenstein's Hussars, advanced to effect a false 
attack on the left bank of that river. One corps 
of reserve under Colonel Pongratz had approached 
as far as the French works on the banks of the 
Rhine, to support the columns more advanced, 
whilst another, consisting of a battalion of Manfre- 
dini, moved by Neumuhl, and the route from that 
village to Kehl. 

These movements of the Austrians experienced 
at first every success. In a short time they ob- 
tained possession of all the works of the town and 
the village of Kehl, and even of the fort : their 
tirailleurs advanced on one side as far as the but- 
ment of the ancient bridge of piles (filotisj and on 
the other, through the islands formed by the bran- 
ches of the Kintzig and the Rhine, and aided by 
the fall of the waters, to the front of the bridge 
where the centinels were stationed. 1 It cannot, 

1 This bridge had been raised the preceding watch a hun- 
dred yards, and the butment left in its first position, 
but as it was not very light, and brandy had been distributed 
with great prodigality to the Austrian soldiers, they mistook 
the butment for the bridge itself, and there halted. This mis- 



81 



however, be said that the French were surprised, as 
the troops were uuder arms before the attack, 
which commenced a quarter before four o'clock : 
but the corps under General Scherb was intirely 
neutralized at this period, the \ustrians having 
got in his rear and preceded him into Kehl. 

The French cavalry endeavoured to retire by the 
bridge of Kintzig and the grand road, but the 
Austrians had already established themselves 
there, and the former were received with so warm 
a fire of musketry, that nearly the whole were des- 
troyed. 1 

The 68th demi-brigade moved on the left of 
Kintzig, where the waters were low, defiled under 
a murderous fire ? and endeavoured to turn the fort 

take was very advantageous to the French, as if their enemy 
had reached the bridge and destroyed it, all their resources 
of ammunition and men would have been cut off. This first 
position of the bridge, upon the small arm of the Rhine, may 
be seen upon the map. 

1 The Citizen Ferry, an officer of the 15th regiment of 
Cavalry, was one out of the small number of individuals 
who escaped. After being made a prisoner, he perceived from 
a cave, where he was guarded by seven Austrians, that the 
French were regaining the advantage, and persuading his 
guards to restore him his sword, he made them all his priso- 
ners. 

L 



82 



on the side of the Rhine, in order to re-enter 
Kehl, Gene- al Si^ 6 put himself at the head of 
the 68th, and sustained the action in the town; 
he was thrice repulsed by superior numbers, and 
the fire of case shot from four pieces of cannon, 
which lined the grand road. It was not till seven 
in the evening, and after extraordinary efforts and 
prodigies of valor, that fortune began to be favor- 
able to the French arms. Lieutenant- Colonel 
Ocskay was made prisoner in the Fort, with two 
hundred men of the regiment of Ferdinand. This 
success restored confidence to a battalion which 
had begun to give way, and had thrown itself upon 
the bridges of the Rhine. General Schawemburg, 
who had gone to Strasburg, returned to rally and 
bring them back to the charge. This enabled the 
French to meet the truly impetuous attack of the 
Austrians, who had already suffered a great loss in 
men, and who exhausted themselves by this obsti- 
nate action. 1 

The town of Strasburg was without a garrison, 
but the artificers at the military magazines had 
been assembled and formed into a battalion; these 
together with the grenadiers, chasseurs, and can- 
noniers of the Strasburg national guard, were sent 

1 Major Dallas, who commanded under Ocskay, having 
been dangerously wounded, and the latter made prisoner, 
there remained no commanding officer to conduct the principal 
attack. 



83 



to the succour of Kehl. This reinforcement arrived 
a propos, and the aid it afforded was decisive. 

The Austrians, who were not supported suffi- 
ciently early by their reserves, were thrown into 
confusion, driven from the town, and afterwards 
from the village of Kehl, where the action had 
lasted some time, but was finally evacuated, and 
the French troops took possession of it. At 10 
o'clock the Austrians still held the redoubt etoilee 
3, and the houses at the extremities of the village. 
The arrival of the battalion of Manfredini by the 
route of Neumuhl, encouraged a fresh attack, but 
which was vigorously repulsed. At 11 o'clock, 
the fort, the town, and the village of Kehl, as 
well as all the French works, were in their own 
possession. 

Such was the result of this bloody and memora- 
ble day, which at first threatened the French army 
with the most direful consequences. If Kehl had 
been carried, the entire corps of General Petrasch 
would have fallen upon the rear of the French 
army: the Austrians might perhaps have had time 
to re-ascend the Rhine as far as Huninguen, and 
to carry its tete de pont, far inferior in strenglh to 
that of Kehl, and in the event of which the embar- 
rassed situation of the French army would have 
been indescribable. 



84 



The bridge and the town of Kehl were twice on 
the brink of being taken, 1 and it was owing to the 
cool intrepidity of General Sisce, to the zeal and 
activity of Generals Meulins and Schawemburg, 
and above all to the bravery and intrepidity of the 
68th demi-brigade, that its preservation is to be 
attributed. In fact, it was only at the expence of a 
seven hours action of the most obstinate and san- 
guinary nature, against superior forces, that the 
French succeeded in repulsing the Austrians, who 
at one time were completely masters of the greater 
part of their works. The Austrians lost in this 
action, according to their own statement, six hun- 
dred and fifty men in killed, nearly three hundred 



1 The grand bridge of piles was Hot entirely re-established. 
One of the French battalions, which was repulsed, wished to 
retire by it, but having reached the coupures,* and not being 
able to advance any further, it was forced to return. It has 
been observed that the Austrians, perceiving this bridge covered 
with troops, expected they were reinforcements, and that this 
idea determined them to retrogade. I, however, imagine that 
if this incident contributed to the preservation of Kehl, it 
arose from the battalion being obliged to return to the action. 



* Coupures in fortification, are passages, sometimes cut through the 
glacis, of about 12 or 15 feet broad, in the re-entering angle of the covert way, 
to facilitate the sallies of the besieged. They are sometimes made through 
the lover curtain, to let boats into a haven built in the rentrant angle of the 
counterscarp of the out works They are also ditches dug to prevent a besieging 
army from getting too close to the wails of a fortified town or place. 



85 



prisoners, a howitzer, and some caissons. The 
loss of the French, although very great, when their 
small force is considered, was much inferior to that 
of their enemy. 1 

After the ill success of the above attempt, General 
Petrasch divided his forces, in order to march 
them at once upon the different denies by which the 
French would retire. One column was moved 
to the valley of Kintzig, another to that of Ren- 
chen, and a third upon the Pfortzheim and JStut- 
gard road : — they also sent out detachments to a 
great distance, which surprised and carried off 
many stragglers of the French army, as well as 
equipages and large supplies. 

Another part of the garrison of Manheim, under 
the command of General Hotze, had made a 
rapid movement upon the left bank of the Rhine. It 
advanced to Germersheim, to Weissembourg (which 
it put under contributions) to Lauterbourg, and 
even opposite to Fort Vauban, aud near to Hague- 
nau, but it was repulsed by some weak detachments 
of posts, supported by the columns of the depart- 
ment of the Lower Rhine, and it retired without 
having obtained any other advantage than that of 
destroying the lines of the Queich and the fortifi- 
cations of Germersheim. 

1 The Citizens Boutrou and Forty of the 68th Brigade 
were made prisoners. 



86 



Continuation of the retreat of the Army of 
the Rhine and, Moselle, to the tQth Vende- 
maire. 



THE situation of the main French army became 
much more embarrassed. The first division on the 
right was menaced by the corps of Generals Frolich, 
Wolff, and St. Julien, which united formed a mass 
of strength far superior to the forces under Gene- 
rals Tarreau and Paillard. In fact, the latter 
was entirely surrounded in his position near Kemp- 
ten, and some of the enemies' parties had pushed 
as far as Memmingen. Several skirmishes had 
taken place at this point, and in the environs of 
Bregenz, on the 27th Fructidor, and the 4th 
Complementaire. On the first intelligence that 
these officers received of the danger to which this 
division was exposed, Ferino moved with General 
Jordy's brigade upon Memmingen, whilst Abatucci, 
who had set out from Landsberg, advanced by 
forced marches to attack the enemy in rear : but 
the latter was defeated before the arrival of these 
troops, by General Tarreau, seconded by General 
Paillard. The latter obtained possession of one 
piece of cannon. 



87 



The main French army was too far distant from 
the appui, which the lake of Constance would have 
afforded, to support its right, and the communica- 
tions were become so bad, that it could not have 
remained secure so remote from its frontiers. 
Although the army of the Rhine had not yet 
given up the hope of seeing that of the Sambre 
and Meuse re-commence the offensive, but as it 
had not yet succeeded, General Moreau determin- 
ed on continuing the retreat, and to take up a more 
contracted position, by which he would be enabled 
to detach a corps to cover his rear, and to wait 
for more fortunate circumstances, which might 
enable him again to advance. General Moreau 
put himself in motion to take up the position of 
Bier, the right to the lake of Constance, and the 
left to Ulm. With this intention, he detached 
General Montrichaid, with four battalions and two 
regiments of cavalry, to move on Ulm, to cover 
that place, as well as the bridges of the Danube, 
and to repulse the detachments of the enemy from 
Manheim and Stutgard, who were advanced as 
far as Goeppingen. This detachment set out from 
Friedberg the 2nd Complementaire, and although it 
made forced marches, it only preceded by an hour 
the division -under General Nauendorff, who had 
moved by the left bank of the Danube, and which, 
if enabled to pass the Austrians, would ha^e been 
an the rear of the French, 



88 



The preparations of the latter being completed 
for re- passing the Lech, that operation was effected 
on the 3rd Complementaire. Every precaution was 
adopted that no corps should be left behind, and 
to prevent the advanced guard from being attacked 
with advantage. General Latour having been 
duped by the movements of the French in front of 
the Paar, as well as from the attack upon Schro- 
benhausen, and conceiving their intention was to 
attack him, retrograded, and thus afforded the 
French several marches over him. This gave fur- 
ther promises of success to the retreat. 

The right wing and the centre re-passed the 
Lech, upon the two bridges near Augsburg. The 
left wing by Rain, and all the advanced guards 
remained for that day in front of the river. 

On the 4th Complementaire, the army retired 
behind the Schmutter, the left wing behind the 
Zusam to Wertingen; the advanced guards took up 
a position behind the Lech. The corps of General 
Nauendorff, followed the French by the left bank 
of the Danube; its advanced guard arrived the 
«ame day at Nordlingen and Donawert. 

On the 5th the French took up a position behind 
the Mmdel, their right at Keraiat, left at Burgau, 
and the advanced guards on the Zusam, 



89 



On the 1st Vendemaire, the French took up a 
position behind the Guntz, their right to Watten- 
weiller, and their left to Bubisheim, in front of 
Leipheim, iheir advanced guards upon the Min- 
del. 

On the 3rd the army arrived upon the Iller ; the 
corps of Ferino halted at Memmingen, that of St. 
Cyr crossed the bridges of Illerdissen, and Kirch- 
berg; the left wing (Dessaix) arrived at Ulm, there 
passed the Danube, and took up a position upon 
the heights in the rear of Blau, the right to the river 
and the left to Klingenstein. 

General Moreau, who had at first designed to 
remain some time in this position, not receiving 
any intelligence either from France or from the 
army of the Sambre and the Meuse, and knowing 
the Archduke was manoeuvring on his rear, and 
General Nauendorff rapidly advanced to unite 
himself to the corps under Petrasch, perceived that 
no time was to be lost in regaining the Rhine, and 
resolved to continue his retreat. 

In three marches the French removed from its 
position of the Iller, to another behind the Federsee, 
where it arrived on the 8th. Ferino's corps, which 
had joined near Kehl the brigades of Paillard and 
Tarreau, in order that they should in future coasts 

M 



90 



tote but one army, moved upon some heights 
behind the Schussen, between Eaindt and Rawens- 
bourg. The centre was posted near Steinhausen, 
between the lake Feders6e and abbey of Schussen- 
ried. The left wing (Dessaix) retired by the banks 
of the Danube, as far as Ettlingen, where it re-crossed 
the river: it abandoned Ulm, which was hotly can- 
nonaded by General Nauendorff, in the night of the 
5th, and the Austrians took possession on the 
following morning. This wing next took up a 
position between the lake Federsee and the 
Danube. The head -quarters were established at 
Sulgau. 

At this period General Latour, who had rapidly 
followed the French, was posted in their front. 
General Frolich's corps, consisting of those under 
Wolff and St. Julien, with that of Conde, threatened 
the French on their right. General Nauendorff, 
moving upon the left of the Danube, made every 
effort to menace and turn the left flank; General 
Petrasch, with ten thousand men, occupied the 
debouches of the black mountains, in the rear of the 
French, and the Archduke was advancing with a 
formidable column from the Lower Rhine, to take 
Kehl and the teie de font of Huninguen. He had 
arrived beyond Mein, and a part of his cavalry had 
joined that of General Petrasch, 



91 



On the 9th, General Latour pushed his advanced 
guard by Steinhausen as far as Schussenried, where 
an obstinate action took place. General St. Cyr 
supported his advanced guard with all his corps, 
and the action extended along the whole line, 
Dessaix having also been attacked on the left, and 
Ferino on the right near Rawensbourg. The 
Austrians were repulsed at every point with the 
loss of three hundred prisoners, including five 
officers. 



►®®«« 



Battle of Biberach, the lith Vendemaire, (2nd Octo- 
ber 9 171)6, old style.) 

THE army of the Rhine and Moselle, thus cir- 
cumscribed in its position by General Latour, 
could not continue its retreat, nor force the pass- 
age of the black mountains, without having first 
obliged the Austrians sufficiently to fall back, so 
that they might remain at least some days disem- 
barrassed. In the midst of the numerous dangers 
which threatened them, the French possessed the 
singular advantage of having their forces concen- 
trated, and the power of moving in a united mass 



92 



against the different corps by which they were 
surrounded in every direction, and with every 
promise of successively defeating them. General 
Moreau knew admirably well in what manner to 
profit by these circumstances, and to preserve his 
army from ruin. General NauendoriFs corps, 
which was moving to cut off the passages of the 
valleys of Kintzig and Renchen, having already 
advanced beyond Tubingen, was too far distant to 
afford any succour to General Latour, and General 
Moreau therefore determined to make the first 
attack on the latter. A battle was almost the only 
resource which remained to the French army. 
The admirable constancy and firmness of the 
troops decided this bold step, and the Commander- 
in -Chief made dispositions for the attack along the 
whole line. 

The right wing (Ferino,) leaving a corps to 
oppose that of General Frolich, upon the Argeu, 
was directed to move by Waldsee, upon the village 
of Essendorff, and vigorously to attack the enemy 
in every direction it should be encountered. 

The centre, (St. Cyr,) with the reserve, was 
commanded to attack the Austrians in their posi- 
tion near Steinhausen, and to endeavour to push 
them as far as Biberach, whilst the left wing 
(Dessaix) made an attack on the opposite side of 



95 



the lake by the route from Hiedlingen to Biberach, 
au4 endeavoured to attain the heights near that 
town, before the army under General Latour, 
encamped at Steinhausen, and which General St. 
Cyr was to have obliged to fall back : but Dessaix 
was also directed to leave sufficient troops to 
watch the Danube, and guard its banks. 

At half past seven in the morning, the centre 
began its principal attack by the route from Rei- 
chembach to Biberach. One column advanced on 
the enemy by the right of Schussenried, whilst ano- 
ther attack was engaged at Ogeshausen. The 
Austrians, after a long resistance, were defeated 
and closely pursued. 

The left wing had been put in motion early in 
the morning, in order to arrive, at the expected 
moment of the attack on the centre, between Bech- 
kirch and Ala. At the same instant therefore the 
right wing of the Austrians was warmly attacked, 
and obliged to give way, as well as their whole line: 
and a most complete and brilliant victory crowned 
the operations of the day. Five thousand prisoners, 
including sixty-five officers, eighteen pieces of 
cannon, and two colors, fell into the hands of the 
French. This success would have cost the Aus- 
trians a much greater loss, if the right wing of the 
French had co-operated and executed the move* 



94 



ment prescribed for it, but in which it failed, owing 
to the orders having been lost, and from not receiv- 
ing fresh instructions until too late. Had it been 
otherwise, a principal part of Mercantin's corps, 
which was opposed to the right of the French, must 
have been cut off, and made prisoners. 



Continuation of the retreat of the •Army — JLffairs of 
Botweil and Villingen, 18th Vendemaire, (Qth 
October, old style,) Passage of the Valley of 
Hell. 

THE victory of Biberach, although complete, 
was not sufficient to extrieate the French army, and 
render its retreat secure. General Nauendorff, 
who had marched by Tubingen and Hechengen, 
was arrived at Rotweil, where he had rejoined 
General Petrasch : their united divisions amounted 
to 25,000 men, occupying Kotweil, Villin- 
gen, 1 Doneschingen, and Neustadt. The forest 



1 Pronounced Fillingen, the V in German having the pro< 
nunciationofF. 



95 



towns were occupied by Austrian troops and 
armed peasants. 1 Therefore, (although the corps of 
General Latour, weakened by its defeat, was driven 
to some distance,) as all communications with 
the Rhine were intercepted, it was necessary that 
more than one action should be fought to open for 
the French army a passage by the forest towns, 
and to force the gorges of the black forest : and 
little time was to be lost, as the Archduke had 
already 2 arrived upon the Renchen with the 
principal part of the forces, which he was marching 
from the Lower Rhine, and some detachments, 
which he had pushed forward, had reached the 
environs of Fribourg and Old Brisach. 3 

1 General Joba, who had been sent to reconnoitre a camp, 
near Friedingen, was taken on the 14th Vendemaire by a party 
of Lobkowitz Light Horse. 



L o 



a He remained a long time upon this river. If he had 
powerfully marched to the debouche of the gorges of Hell, he 
could have got there before the French army. He is accused of 
having amused himself at Fetes, which were given him at 
Frankfort and Manheim : but I imagine he had more plausible 
motives for not advancing beyond the Renchen; he was fearful 
that the French could debouche on his rear by forcing the 
passage of the valley of Kintzig, less impenetrable than the 
valley of Hell, which he moreover conceived sufficiently 
defended by two battalions, and this consideration in all pro- 
bability detained him on the Renchen. 

5 The French had left at Fribourg General Tholmc, with 
some hundred men, to cover their communications and escort 
convoys. On the night of the 16th Frimaire, they evacuated 



96 



After the battle General Moreau had not left 
opposed to General Latour, but such troops as 
were indispensably necessary to keep him in 
check. He had directed a part of his forces to 
cross the Danube, close to Riedlingen, which he 
destined to march against General NauendoriPs 
division, near Rotweil, and Villingen, and to pro- 
ceed by Ebingen and Spaiching. On the 14th and 
15th Vendemaire the advanced guard of this por- 
tion of the army encountered upon this route, near 
Strasberg and Ebingen, the advanced posts of their 
enemy — the latter were vigorously repulsed, and on 
the 18th the French arrived at Rothenmunster. Here 
a warm contest took place, which terminated in 
favor of the French, who drove the Austrians 
beyond Rotweil, with the loss of one hundred and 
forty cuirassiers, who with their horses were made 
prisoners. During this attack, a corps binder 
General Taponnier entered the valley of the 
Briege, 1 to turn the post of Villingen, into which 
the French entered on the 20th, after a second 
action, wherein they took two pieces of cannon, and 
a hundred and fifty light horse of the regiment, 
of Karaicksay. 

that town upon receiving intelligence of the march of the 
Archduke's troops, and 70 were made prisoners at Old Brisach. 
These prisoners were, however, liberated in a few days, and 
their escort fell into the hands of the French. 

1 The Briege is, properly speaking, a source of the Danube, 
and one of the most considerable. 



97 



The French, not being able to reach Kehl by 
the valleys of the Renchen and Kintzig, too 
strongly occupied by the Austrians, and at the 
debouche of which the Archduke was encamped 3 
and having no other way by which to retire than 
that of the narrow and difficult valleys terminating 
at Ftibourg and the Forest towns' road, had moved, 
after their victory, by Maskirch and Pfullendorff, 
to the heights of Stockach and Friedingen, in which 
position they arrived on the l6lh. From thence 
they detaehed a derni -brigade to open the road of 
the Forest towns, and to conduct to Huninguen 
a large convoy of stores and baggage. It marched 
by Tengen, and Stuhlingen, and executed its ob- 
ject without experiencing any serious obstacles. 
The remainder of the army continued to retreat by 
Doneschingen. At the latter place, General 
Moreau having destined the centre to force the 
passage of the valley of Hell, 1 detached it from the 

1 To traverse the black mountains, from Neustadt to Fri- 
bourg, you have for two hours to travel along a narrow valley 
between perpendicular rocks. This valley, or rather this 
crevice, at the end of which runs a torrent, is only a few 
paces wide, and is named the valley of Hell. By this terri- 
ble defile, the greater part of the French army traversed the 
black mountains with an enemy in its front, its rear, and on 
its flanks. It was on this valley that Marshal Villars, in 1702, 
wrote the following sentence to the Elector of Bavaria, who 
pressed him to cross the black mountains and join him. " Cette 
vall6e de Neustadt, que vous me proposez, c'est cechemui qu'on 

N 



98 



rest of his forces, and united his right and left 
into one body, which was to make head against the 
corps under Generals Latour, Petraseh, and Nau- 
endorff. 

The corps of the Austrians which occupied 
the valley of Neustadt, was composed of two 
battalions, and some light cavalry. The troops 
under the orders of General Girard, charged with 
forcing this passage, surmounted every obstacle 
which the nature of the country presented to them, 
and on the SOth attacked with extreme vigor the 
enemy occupying this valley, who were overthrown 
with the loss of a hundred prisoners, and a piece 
of cannon. He retired in the greatest disorder 
upon Emmendingen, and on the following day^ 
&!st Vendemaire, the centre of the army (St. Cyr) 
took up a positron in front of Fribourg. 

The 22d, 23d, and 24th were occupied with the 
remainder of the army defiling by that valley. The 
convoy of stores and baggages had passed by the 
Forest towns, protected in its march by a part of 
the right wing, and arrived at Huninguen, without 
sustaining any loss. 

appelle le val D'Enfer. He bleu, que votre Altesse me par 
donne 1 'expression, je ne suis pas Diable pour y passer." 

Lieutenant-Colonel Aspre, who was charged with defending, 
the parage, was mortally wounded in the breast* 



99 



Thus this brave army, whose dangerous and 
interesting situation had attracted the attention of 
all Europe ; and which the Austrians had flattered 
themselves of intirely capturing, escaped by the 
able manoBuvres of its Chief, (General Moreau, 
and by his skill in taking advantage of the admira- 
ble conduct of his troops, and their unshaken.firm- 
ness. After a march of one hundred leagues, this 
army had reached its borders, ready to overcome 
every difficulty, and carrying with it the glorious 
trophies of brilliant victories, which fix this retreat 
as the first military operation of which history has 
preserved the details. 1 



Affair upon the Eltz, the 28th Vendemaire (iQih 
Oct. Old Style,) Retreat of the Army on Hunin- 
guen. Operations to the ist Brumaire* 

THE project of General Moreau, in descending 
the Rhine, was to move near Kehl, and already he 

1 The French army brought with it eighteen cannons taken 
at the battle of Biberach, two at Villingen, and two colors. 



100 

bad advanced before the Eltz 1 to Emmendingen : 
lie had posted a division at Waldkircb to cover 
his right flank : and had begun to make dispositions 
to gain the valley of Kintzig. With this design, and 
to possess himself of the heights, he directed the 
centre to carry Eltzach ; but the continual rains 
which had destroyed the roads, rendered them 
impassable for artillery, very slippery and bad for 
an infantry almost intirely without shoes, preven- 
ted this attack taking place. The Austrians more- 
over were already masters of the summits which 
commanded the French, and which it would have 
been necessary for the latter to ascend in order to 
act. 

The Archduke, on his part, hastened his march 
to oppose the progress of the French, and lost no 
time in uniting all his forces, and collecting all 
the corps which had been invested. That of 
General Peiraseh joined bim on the 21th near 
Ettenheim after having passed by Hornberg and 
Haslach ; Naundorff moved from Villingen by 
Hornberg upon Eltzach, where he effected a junc- 
tion on the same day, with the left wing of the 
Archduke. General Latour's army debouched in 
the plain of the Rhine by the valley of Kintzig, 

1 The Eltz takes its source in the black mountains beyond 
"Waldkircb, passes by Kenzingen and Cappel, and disembogues 
into the Rhine near Witenwihr. 



101 

and after forced marches, he joined on the 27th, 
between Ettenheim and Herbottzheim. The corps 
of Prince Conde and General Frolieh, the only 
corps that had followed the French by the valley 
of Hell, arrived at Neustadt on the 24th, and 
General Wolff, who had followed the retreating 
army by the Forest towns, was in the invirons of 
Waidshut. 

The 24th, 25th, and 26th, were passed in skir- 
mishes with the advanced guards beyond Eltz, in 
one of which the French made prisoners four 
companies of the Regiment of Ollivier Wallis with 
nine Officers. 

On the 27th, the advanced posts of the French 
left wing were attacked in the valleys of Hell, St. 
Pierre, and Ht. Mirgen, and obliged to give way, 
but the corps de bataille of that wing preserved its 
position, and all the efforts of the enemy to 
debouche by the gorges were ineffectual. 

On the 28th, the Archduke, who had united all 
his forces, marched to attack the French at e very- 
point. The right of the latter was at Waldkirch, 
and the left at Riegel, the advanced guards beyond 
the Eltz. He divided the troops for his principal 
attack into three columns, that on the right under 
Latour was directed against the village of Kendrin- 



102 

gen, of which it was to obtain possession ; that of 
the centre, under Wartensleben, was to carry the 
heights of Malterdingen, and that of the left, 
under Petrasch, was directed to march to Emmen- 
dingen. Two flank corps, under the command of 
the Prince of Orange, and General Meerfeld, 
were to gain the summits of the mountains, in 
order to extend the right flank of the French, 
whilst the corps under General Nauendorff at- 
tacked the post of Waldkirch. 

The action began on the left of the French by 
the attack of Kendringen, the advanced guard of 
the left wing, which occupied that village, received 
orders to retire as soon as attacked from the 
opposite side of the Eltz, by the bridges of Tunin- 
gen and Amwasser, but General Beaupuy, who 
there commanded, having been killed by a cannon 
shot, at the commencement of the action, 1 these 
orders were not executed, and this advanced 
guard continued the contest with the greatest bra- 
very in that bad position. They repulsed several 
times the reiterated attacks of the Austrians, who 

1 This distinguished General, whose death was much regret* 
ted by the whole French army, and the cause of sincere grief to 
the soldiers of his division, was the victim of excessive bravery. 
He had received several sabre wounds, on the 8th Messidor, 
and had rejoined the army before his cure was perfected. His 
death at this moment occasioned dismal consequences, and he 
is justly accused of having rashly exposed himself* 



103 

confessed that the Archduke was obliged to march 
in person at the head of his best corps of Grena- 
diers, to force them to abandon this village. 

A similar resistance was opposed to the attacks 
of Wartensleben and Petrascb, near Emmendin- 
gen, 1 until the Prince of Orange's division arrived 
from across the mountains to debouche upon the 
right flank of the French, when the advanced guards 
of the latter retired behind the Eitz and destroyed 
the bridges. 

The French troops even attacked the corps under 
General Nauendorff, at the moment that Officer was 
preparing to march against the advanced guard of 
their centre: but the advanced guard, which ought 
also to have retired behind the Eitz, having sent 
out detachments by the valleys of Simonswald 
against the troops that had repulsed the piquets 
in the valley of St. Pierre, was obliged to maintain 
its position to protect the retreat of these detach- 
ments. The French made continual exertions to 
repulse their enemy, but they were finally forced 
to abandon Waldkirch, and to retreat near to 
Langen-Dentzlingen. The detachments which had 
marched to Simons wald, and which consisted of 

1 Wartensleben, one of the principal Austrian Generals, 
had his arm broken by a case shot, whilst attacking the heights 
behind Malterdingen, 



104 

three light infantry xompanies, were cut off, but 
they afterwards escaped by the mountains with 
only the loss of a small number in prisoners. 
Nevertheless the right wing succeeded in retaking 
the position, which the piquets had lost at St. 
Pierre. 

Although the French army had only lost the 
ground of its advanced guards, and had kept its 
position, 1 yet as its enemy had gained possession 
of Waldkirch and the commanding heights, General 
Moreau found it would have been imprudent to 
remain in his position. He therefore retired a 
short distance behind the Langen-Dentzlingen, 
and took up another at Nymbourg, masking the 
debouches of Waldkirch. 

On the S9th the Austrians again attacked the 
French in their new position; and notwithstanding 
the superiority of their forces, and the greatest efforts, 
from ten in the morning until very late in the even- 
ing, they could not succeed in making any impres- 
sion, or obliging the French to lose ground. The 
infantry of their right even suffered severely in this 
affair by the corps of General Dessaix. 

General Moreau, perceiving that all the Aus- 

1 The French lost in this affair six hundred prisoners, and 
took four hundred. 



105 

trian forces were united* and that he would bav£ 
much difficulty in maintaining himself in the Btis- 
gau with an army weakened and fatigued by its con- 
tinual marches, and by incessant rains, determined 
to- retire upon Huninguen, and there to repass the 
Rhine: but to force the Austrians to a diversion* 
which might re-establish an equilibrium, he directed 
the left wing to repass the Rhine at Old Brisaeh, 
and to move with celerity to Kehl, and threaten the 
Archduke's rear. 

In the night the French quitted the position of 
Ny s Tibourg, Dessaix repassed the Rhine at Brisaeh, 
and the remainder of the army retired upon Hunin- 
guen, so closely pressed by the Austrians, that their 
rear guard, commanded by Generals Abatucci and 
Laboissiere, was continually engaged. 



Defensive Battle of gchtiengen, on the 3rd Bru- 
maive, (2$rd Oetober, Old Style.) 

THE French had but one bridge at Hunin- 
guen, by which to recross the Rhine ; and the 
Austrians closely pressing them, this was a difficult 

O 



106 

operation ; but as their army was diminished by the 
absence of the left wing, and the Ausirians concen- 
trated themselves as much as possible, the former 
could only remedy these disadvantages by the choice 
of an excellent position, where they might wait the 
attack. 

On the 1st Brumaire they reached Schliengen, 
the right appuyed on Kandern, and the left on the 
Rhine near Steinstadt, the line, passing over the 
heights commanding the villages of Ober and Ni- 
der-Eckenheim, Liel, and Schliengen, was covered 
by a brook running at the foot of these heights, 
which extend to the Rhine, where they terminate in 
a perpendicular declivity, and consequently the left 
flank of the French army, appuyed on this decli- 
vity, could not be extended. Their right enjoyed 
a position equally good upon the height of Kan- 
dern, covered by a brook of the same name, and 
they had a corps of Infantry opposite Schliengen in 
front of the line of heights, furnished with vine- 
yards. It was in this position, that General Moreau, 
notwithstanding his inferiority in point of numbers, 
resolved to sojourn in order to arrest the Arch- 
duke : he even entertained some expectation of 
maintaining himself here, if the latter, acquainted 
with the march of Dessaix towards Kehl, had weak- 
ened himself by detaching a part of his forces to 
oppose that officer. 



107 

But the Austrians, anxious on the contrary, to 
profit by their actual superiority over the army of 
the Rhine and Moselle, and to lose no time in caus- 
ing it to abandon the right bank, marched with all 
their strength against it. Generals Nauendorff and 
Latour were directed to attack the French right 
and to turn the position of Kandern, whilst a divi- 
sion commanded by the Prince of Furstemberg, with 
the corps of Prince Conde, should keep in check, 
by false attacks, the left wing, whose position, from 
Schliengen to Steinstadt, was too advantageous to 
allow them any expectation of forcing it. 

On the 3rd Brurmire, at seven o'clock in the 
morning, the French were attacked, but they offered 
so firm an opposition, that no part of their line could 
be forced : and notwithstanding the fatigue of their 
troops, and the extreme bad weather, they vigor- 
ously repulsed every attack. The right wing 
(Ferino,) against which the Austrians directed their 
principal strength, displayed prodigies of valor at 
Kandern, and at Liel, and sustained from the break 
of day until night their repeated efforts, and pre- 
vented their acquiring any success. The only 
advantage of which the Austrians could boast, was 
that of having gained on their right, the village of 
Steinstadt, and on their left, that of Kandern. These 
posts were in front of the French line, which expe- 
rienced no discomfiture. 



108 

Night, together with a thick fog, and a violent 
storm, put an end to the battle. If the Austrians had 
succeeded in defeating the French at Kandern, they 
would have easily cut off the retreat upon Hunin- 
guen, by preceding them to Eimeldingen, and which 
was their design. It was with the like object, they 
on the same day attacked the post of Rhinfeld. in 
order to move a corps upon the rear of the French, 
but as, in retiring from that town, they had time to 
destroy the bridge, it could not have any dangeroug 
consequences. 

The Austrian army, which since the departure of 
Dessaix was at least double that of the French, 
rendering it impossible for the latter to maintain 
itself beyond the Rhine, it was determined to repass 
that river. This retreat the army commenced in the 
night following the battle, and on the 4th arrived in 
the position of Raltingen, and on the 5th passed the 
Rhine at Huninguen, without any attempt on the 
part of the Austrians to overturn its rear guard, 
(Abatucci and Laboissiere,) which displayed to 
them the greatest firmness, order, and precision in 
all its movements. 

The Archduke, having succeeded in compelling 
the French to move beyond the Rhine, ought 
perhaps to have masked, by two corps sufficiently 
strong, the two tites de jpont of Ke>l and Hunin- 



109 

guen, which were the only points they had kept 
upon the right of that river, and to have detached 
a part of his forces to Italy for the relief of 
Mantua ; but jealous of acquiring the title of Libe- 
rator of Germany, he would not conclude the cam- 
paign without making some efforts to gain posses- 
sion of these two posts. His design was easily 
perceived ; and as that of Kehl on account of its 
position was the most considerable and important, 
his first efforts it was conceived would be directed 
against it. He left before Huninguen, under Prince 
Fur Sternberg, a corps of three battalions and 
twelve squadrons, and rapidly moved with the re- 
mainder of his forces before Kehl. 

General Moreau, on his side, left a sufficient 
corps riear Huninguen under General Ferino, and 
with the remainder took up a position in the environs 
of Strasburg. 



110 



SIEGE OF KEHJL. 



Investment of this fortress the ist Complement 
taire. Opening of the trenches, the 1st Fri- 
maire. Considerable sortie, the 2nd Frimaire, 
(32 November, Old Style.) Evacuation of Eehl 
ly the French, the 31 Nivose (10 January, 1797, 
Old Style.) 

ALTHOUGH expedition bad been used to pro- 
tect Kehl from a coup de main, the advanced 
works and the entrenehed camp were at this 
period but outlines : three parts were only pali- 
sadoes. Thus it was imagined unworthy the 
honors of a regular siege, and the French with 
difficulty could persuade themselves, that their 
enemy conceived the plan of attacking it methodi- 
cally at so advanced a period of the season. The 
lines of contravallation, which the Austrians had 
commenced since the 5th Brumaire, and which 
eonsisted of redoubts placed at some distance from 
each other, and connected by entrenchments, were 
regarded by the French as works purely de- 
fensive. However, towards the end of Brumaire^ 



Ill 

it was no longer possible to be mistaken, and it 
was perceived that a siege was resolved upon. 

Until this period, tbe French had not obstructed 
their enemy's workmen, on account of having them- 
selves no time to lose in forwarding their own works, 
which would unavoidably have been interrupted 
by an attack : moreover it would have been ex- 
tremely imprudent to provoke the besiegers, whilst 
they, tbe French, had not a single work in a condi- 
tion to arrest a vigorous attack. The Austrians 
having moved their advanced posts too near 
the redoubt etoilee 3, and rejected the propositions 
made them to retire, in order to avoid the useless 
skirmishing between centinels, some hussars and 
light infantry, under the orders of Vandamme, 
were sent against them. This sortie, which took 
place on the 14th Brumaire, was successful, and 
eighty Austrians were made prisoners. 

From the 10th Brumaire the French troops had 
been employed in the works of Kehl ; in furnishing 
them with heavy artillery, and pallisading tnem. 
General Deesaix, after having passed the Khine at 
Brisach, had taken the command of this fortress : 
the garrison was considerably augmented, and the 
works, on which a want of hands had occasioned 
a relaxation since the 1st Complementaire, were 
bow pursued with increased activity. The Aus- 



112 

trians also lost no time in perfecting their lines of 
contravallation. When the French works were 
sufficiently forward to permit an attack without 
danger, it was determined to attempt the raising of 
the siege, or at least to impose on the Austrians by 
a hold attack. On the 21 st of November, whilst 
the latter opened the trenches on the right bank of 
the Kintzig, the French made dispositions for a 
considerable sortie. On the £2nd, at break of day, 
their troops boldly marched to attack the lines of 
contravallation between the Kintzig and the Rhine. 
They debouched from the isle of Erlenrhin, and 
from the left of the entrenehed camp. One column 
forced the two first redoubts, that appuyed these 
lines to the arm of the Rhine : another penetrated 
near the centre, and carried Sundhehn, and the 
two redoubts contiguous to that village: but three 
other intermediate redoubts, between these two, 
not having been carried, and the remainder of 
the French troops, intended to support those who 
made the first attack, not having arrived and de- 
ployed sufficiently soon, they were obliged to 
abandon the Austrian lines, and to retire into their 
entrenched camp, after an action of four hours. 
They took seven hundred prisoners, seven pieces 
cannon, and two howitzers, and spiked fifteen pieces 
of cannon, which a want of horses prevented them 
from carrying off. 



113 

Sixteen thousand French infantry, awl from three 
to four thousand cavalry, had been destined for 
this attack; but the principal part of these troop*, 
and especially the cavalry, not having been able to 
deploy on account of the confined situation of the 
ground, could not even act. 

This sortie occasioned much alarm to the Aus- 
trians. All their Generals, Latour and the Arch- 
duke in person, moved to the gap the French had 
made. Six battalions of armed workmen, who had 
been employed at the opening of the entrenchments 
beyond Kintzig, marched against the French, and 
all the Austrian troops were put in motion :— they 
employed every effort to oblige the French to 
abandon that part of the line they had forced, and 
favored by a thick fog, that prevented the latter from 
reconnoitering, and by the humidity of the ground, 
that impeded the march of their columns, the 
Austrians succeeded in again obtaining possession 
of their works, and the French retired in perfect 
order to their own. 1 The bad weather, the tardi- 
ness in the deployment of the troops, who had but 

* General Moreau received a wound in his head. His aid- 
de-camp Lclee was dangerously wounded. General Dessaix 
had a horse shot under him, and received a contusion in his leg. 
General Latour had also a horse killed. 

P 



114 

one narrow pass by which to defile, prevented this 
affair from being attended by all the success the 
French promised themselves : it was very sangui- 
nary, and on both sides the number in wounded was 
very great 

The issue of this day decided the fate of Kehl ; 
it demonstrated that the Austrians were too well 
entrenched, and that their works confine^ the 
French too much to enable the latter to deploy in 
sufficient strength to force those works : and it 
became evident that this fortress would in the 
end be obliged to yield to a regular attack, unless 
some very fortunate and unforeseen event should 
save it. * 

It is from this period that the commencement of 
the siege of Kehl should be considered, of which the 
investment had continued since the 1st Complement 
taire. In order to comprehend perfectly the opera- 
tions of this siege, it is necessary to give a perfect 
statement of the French and Austrian works, which, 
together with an attentive examination of the accom- 
panying plan, must furnish a correct idea of this 
^emorable military evenf;. 

The fortress of Kehl, properly speaking, is a 
fortified square on the plan of Marshal Vauban. 
It was demolished agreeably to the treaty of 1736, 



115 

when it was given up to the empire. The founda- 
tions of the ancient stone revetements remained, 
with the exception of the flank angle overlooking 
the Rhine, which was entirely destroyed. At the 
period of the passage of the Rhine, on the 6th 
Messidor, it had neither trenches nor relief; the 
French, had since re-established the parapets, and 
made a trencB, at the foot of the rev e cement, from 
eighteen to twenty feet wide. Since the first Com- 
jplSmentaire the progress in the works had been very 
slack, it nof being possible to engage the peasants 
of the Rhine, and it was not till the 10th Brumaire, 
when a part of the army arrived, and soldiers 
were employed, that they were pursued with 
vigor. 

1. Horn ivorJc of the Lower Rhine. Its relief 
had been re-established by fascines, 1 upon the old 

1 Fascines in fortification are a kind of faggots, made of small 
branches of trees or brush -wood tied in three, four, five, or 
six places, and are of various dimensions, according to the 
purposes intended. Those that are to be pitched over for 
burning lodgements, galleries, or any Other works of the 
enemy, should be one and a half or two feet long. Those that 
are for making epaulements or Chandeliers, or to raise works, 
or fill up ditches, are ten feet long, and one or one and a 
quarter feet in diameter. They are made in the following 
manner : six small pickets are stuck into the ground, two and 
two, forming little crosses, well fastened in the middle with 
willow bindings. On these trestles the branches are laid, and 
£re bound round with withes, at the distance of every two feet,v 



116 

foundations. There had not been sufficient time 
to perfect it, and to strengthen the parapets, that 
were not cannon proof. This work possessed an 
old covert way, of which the relief remained, and 
had been pallisadoed. 

2. Lunette' of the Kintzig. The French had 
re-established it upon the old foundation : it was 
pallisadoed, as well as its covert ways, towards the 
end of Brumaire. The Kinizig was at first crossed 
at the gorge of this Lunette, upon a bridge of piles, 
but an inundation having carried it away, one of 
boats was built. The Austrians having a battery 
commanding this bridge, all the boats were sunk on 
the first day of the siege, when a coppered pontoon 
was substituted, which was equally unsuccessful. 
Finally they succeeded in keeping up a communica- 
tion by means of a kind of ferry, composed of three 
pontoons lashed together. 

3. Kedoubt etoilee. This was constructed by 
the Austrians before the passage of the Rhine, and 
taken by the French at that period. The over- 
flowing of the Kintzig, in Brumaire, forced the 



Six men are employed in making a fascine ; two cut the boughs, 
two gather them, and the remaining two bind them. 
These six men can make twelve fascines every hour. Each 
fascine requires five pickets to fasten it. 



117 

latter to evacuate it f and the Austrians took posses- 
sion and demolished it. 

4. Horn work of the Upper Rhine. A part of 
the foundations of this work existed : the rest were 
formed by fascines. A trench was made behind 
the entrance battery. A small ditch was dug at 
the foot of the revetement, which the French had 
begun to strengthen with fraises ; they sketched a 
covert way ; they fixed pallisadoes, but had not 
time to complete either the body of the work, or its 
appertenances, and all remained imperfect. It 
was in these horn works that the houses, forming 
what was called the town of Kehl, were situated ; 
but they were all either ruined or demolished at 
the beginning of the siege. 

5. Half Moon before the Horn work. It was 
commenced on the 10th Brumaire, but never 
finished. 

6. Redoubt of the Cimetiere. This redoubt 
bad been constructed by the Austrians : it was 
taken at the passage of the Rhine ; one of its faces 
was demolished, and a communication opened with 
the covert way of the horn work of the Upper 
Bhine. The Austrians entered it on the 17th 
JV'ivose, but could not maintain themselves there ; 
it remained abandoned until the end of the siege. 



118 

7- Left part of the entrenched camp ; c overed 
by a morass, and united by a branch of communi- 
cation to the redoubt of trous de loups. When, on 
the 17th JVivose, the Austrians obtained possession 
of this part of the entrenched camp, they turned 
the relief against the French. 

8. Redoubt of trous de loups. This had been 
constructed by the Austrians ; it was covered at its 
gorge, and constituted a part of the entrenched, 
camp. The French lost it on the l£th Nivose. 

9. Right fart of the entrenched camp. It was 
constructed along an old dyke, of the relief of 
which in some places the French took advantage. 
The Austrians obtained possession of it on the 12th 
Nivose, opposed the reliefs to the French, and estab- 
lished several batteries. 

10 Tetes de Pont of Erlenrhin. A redoubt 
fraised and pallisadoed, that covered the bridge of 
boats constructed upon this arm of the Khine, from 
the day of the passage, and by wfiich the French 
communicated with the flying bridge. It remained 
in the power of the French until the 17th JSivose : 
they evacuated it at the same time as the Isle of 
Erlenrhin* 



119 

11 Redoubt bonnet de pretre (priest's cap 1 ). It 
was so little perfected, that it was not considered 
prudent to place any cannon there, and it had only 
a guard of twenty men when the Austrian s took it 
on the evening of the 16th Erimaire. Its reliefs 
were also turned against the French. 

12. Horn work of Erlenrhin. It was only 
commenced on the 10th Brumaire — They had 
scarce time to form the outline of the trenches 
and parapets, which were never sufficiently per- 
fected to be susceptible of a good defence. It was 
evacuated on the 17th Nivose. 

13. Reduct for covering the flying bridge. It 
was commenced during the siege, and never intirely 
pallisadoed. 

14. lie des Escargots, and its entrenchments, 
which were begun on the 15th Brumaire, were 
maintained by the French until the end of the 
siege. 

15. He de PEstacade, with a trench to cover the 
troops who guarded it. This island, as well as the 

1 An outwork, having three salient, and two inward angles, 
and differs from the double tenaille only in having its sides 
inclined inwards towards the gorge, and those of a doubly 
tenaille are parallel to each other. 



120 

preceding one, remained in the possession of the 
French, until the last day, and even after the eva- 
cuation of Erlenrhin. 

16. lie Touffup, of which the Austrians gained 
possession in the evening of the 16th Frimaire. 

17. Estacade, intended to stop the fire ships and 
other craft, the Austrians had built at Offemburg to 
destroy the bridges. 

18. Entrenchments of the Islands of the KinU 
%ig, began the 10th Frimaire. 

19. Batteries of the left bank. Independent of 
the artillery with which the French had furnished 
the works of Kehl, all the batteries 1 of the left 
bank, existing before the passage of the Rhine, for 
the defence of this river, were strongly supplied. 
This numerous artillery cost the French much 
ammunition; but it exceedingly annoyed the 
Austrians, whose works it took a revers: it obliged 
them to traverse, retarded their progress, and des- 
troyed a considerable number. The first of these 
batteries was an ancient redoubt : during the siege 
it had been strengthened by a barbet battery on its 
right. Their fire seriously distressed the Austrians 
in the lie Touffue, and destroyed several times a 

1 These batteries are all pointed out on the accompanying 
map. 



121 

small bridge of communication between this Island 
and that of Ehrlenrhin, next was the battery in the 
lie des Epis, lower that of fascines, still lower and 
in front of the small island, that called the grand 
bivouac, with three batteries at the end of the 
bridges, fifteen hundred metres, (about 7^0 fathoms) 
below the bridge, upon a gravier avanci armed 
with six mortars, and four pieces of cannon, very 
much distressed the right flank of the besiegers, and 
their troops in the isles of the Kintzig. Behind, 
near the mouth of the arm of the Mabile, is the 
redoubt of the Upper Carpe, and three hundred 
metres, (150 fathoms) lower, the battery of Rub- 
reehtslau. At a very advantageous point of a 
woody Island, opposite tp the mouth of the Kintzig, 
a battery had been commenced, but which was not 
finished ; its object was to destroy the bridge upon 
the Kintzig, near Aueuheim. 

SO. Manor of the Anabaptists, in the island 
of the Khine, where Generals Dessaix, and St. 
Cyr resided, and who alternately commanded at 
Kehl. 

2 1 . Camp of the two demi-brigades of the reserve, 
in the Island of the Rhine, 

S3. Ancient bridge of piles. This bridge 
had been re-estaoiisiied in the situation, where the 

Q 



122 

old stakes remained. The French had repaired 
three gaps in the piles, where they had been burnt 
by the Austrians. On the 8th Frimaire, when the 
latter began firing from their batteries, the boats 
were destroyed. The bridge was entirely broken, 
repaired some days after, and again broken. It 
was so directly in the fire of the Austrians, that it 
was impossible for the French to maintain it three 
days together, or to derive from it any advantage, 
and was even dangerous to the bridge of boats, 
below it, and which it threatened to carry away 
with its wreck. 

23. Ruins of the Church of Kehl, and the post 
house. The village of Kejjl had been intirely razed 
by the French, since the 5th Brumaire : there only 
remained some walls of these two buildings, which 
were vigorously disputed, and which were the cause 
of several actions. 

24. Austrian Battery of four pieces of heavy 
calibre, established upon a branch of the French in- 
trenched camp. On the 19th, it commenced firing 
on the bridge of boats; and the following day, at 
nine in the morning, the bridge was destroyed in 
such manner, as to render it irreparable. 

25. Austrian Redans, of from ten to twelve 
pieces, directed against the bridge. They were for- 



123 

tified on the 20th, in the morning, and were to have 
commenced firing in the evening, if the evacuation 
had not been agreed upon. 

26. Lines of contravallation. They were 
formed of several redoubts, joined by entrench- 
ments ; they appuyed, on a dyke near Aunheim, 
traversed the route of Rastadt, that of Offenbourg, 
the Kintzig, and the Schutter, environed the 
village of Sundheim, and finished at the arm of 
the Rhine before the lie touffue, near the redoubt of 
the Bonnet de pretre. The Austrian troops in 
that Island, who were there on the 16th Frimaire, 
contributed to assure the left flank, and the 
besiegers were covered by considerable entrench- 
ments in the Islands of the Kintzig, where their 
right appuyed ; they had also behind these lines, 
several redoubts or fleches, intended to serve as 
appuys to their camps. 

27. Austrian camps. 1 



THE Austrians had in the night of the 1st Fri~ 
maire, opened the trenches on the right of the Kint- 

1 A statement of the French troops employed in the defence 
of Kehl, and of the besieging army is given in the appendix 
marked B. 



124 

zig : this was, however, intended as a diversion, and 
to protect the real attack that was to have been 
made on the left, from the Schutter to the Rhine. 
They had formed two trenches, one from the vil. 
lage of Neumnhl, and the other from the Bastadt 
road, and connected them together by parallel 
lines. Other trenches were formed, and batteries 
erected. 

On the part of the French, their works were 
sufficiently forward to prevent any fear of a 
coup de main. On the 4th, their cannon began 
to play upon the works of the besiegers, and it 
was not till seven in the morning of the 8th, that 
the batter'es of the latter were opened. The firing 
of this day was extraordinarily brisk — it destroyed 
some boats of the military bridge, and entirely 
swam; e i one of those which were substituted for 
the piles deficient in the grand bridge; and which 
from this time became impassible, one of the 
Austrian batteries, so entirely commanding, the 
bridge, as to prevent it being repaired. 

The same evening, the Austrians attempted a 
lodgement at the entrance of the village of Kehl, 
where the French had their advanced posts ; the 
former were several times repulsed, but they final- 
ly succeeded in their object, 



125 

The firing continued with much spirit, but 
without, any remarkable event occurring until the 
16th Frimaire. In the interval the French had made 
several night sorties on the works of the besiegers, 
but without any other success than dislodgiug them 
from the head of their works ; the reserves of the 
Austrians always obliged the French to retreat, 
before they could carry off any cannon, or destroy 
the lines. 

This time the Austrians had employed in for- 
warding their works, and erecting new batteries. 
Towards the 8th, they had commenced trenches on 
the left of the Schutter, at the entrance of the 
ancient village of Kehl, and by the 16th they had 
erected a grand parallel, which connected their 
lodgements in these ruins, to the left flank of the 
contravaliation, at the arm of the Ehrlenrhin, and 
in this trench had formed six new batteries. They 
had also armed three others ou the borders of 
the Kintzig, and connected the lines of both 
banks of this river by several branches, traversing 
it almost tb where it enters the Kintzig and Schut- 
ter. 

In the morning of the 16th Frimaire, the besie- 
gers opened at the same time all their batteries; 
and kept up a warm fire during the whole day. 
About four in the afternoon, tbey attacked the He 



126 

touffue (16) which was only defended by 300 men : 
they succeeded in carrying it, but the French 
retook it, and made some prisoners. At the same 
time the Austrians had attacked the work (11) 
called the Bonnet de prttre, where only 20 men 
were posted : they succeeded in taking it, and 
afterwards connected it to their other works. 

In the night of the li)th, the Austrians attacked 
the French advanced posts entrenched in the ruins 
(23) of the post house, and church of old Kehl. 
This post was obstinately contested on both sides : 
the besiegers were three times repulsed, but they 
finally succeeded in carrying it : they were, how- 
ever, driven from the place on the following morn- 
ing. In this attack, at which the Archduke was 
present, the Austrians lost three hundred men, and 
an officer of note. They returned to the attack on 
the 20th and 21st, and were equally unsuccessful. 

The arm of the Ehrlenrhin being dried up, the 
Austrians endeavoured to obtain possession of that 
island. In the nights of the 20th and 21st they 
attacked it, but were repulsed, and with much 
loss, by the 76th demi-brigade. 

It was at this period, and without doubt to sup- 
port their attacks, the Austrians launched two 
fire ships to burn the French bridge of boats (92) 



127 

but the estacade, and the vigilance of the French 
pontoniers, frustrated this and every other attempt 
of a similar nature, afterwards made to destroy or 
break their bridges. 

Although the French works were not nearly 
perfected, the besiegers despairing of success by 
main force, marched to the sap on the Ruins of 
Old Kehl, the redoubt of trous de lou-ps, and the 
Isle of Ehrlenrhin ; and these posts which were 
scarcely tenable they surrounded with an immense 
number of batteries. 

On the 28th Frimaire, at bread of day, the 
Austrians opened all their new batteries, obliged 
the French to evacuate the ruins of the church 
and post house, effected a lodgement and joined 
their trenches in front of the entrenched camp 
with those of the village of Kehl. They had at 
this time advanced their principal attack near to 
the redoubt of trous de loups by a second paral- 
lel. 

This redoubt became no longer tenable — it was 
nearly destroyed by the fire of the cannon: the 
heavy artillery was therefore removed, andfpieces 
of small calibre, sufficient to annoy the workmen 
of the besiegers, substituted* 



328 



• 



In the first decade of Ntvfise, all the Austrian 
batteries were completed, and a general attack was 
expected on the 12th. The reports of deserters 
prepared the French for an event of importance on 
that day. The Archduke had for some time pre- 
pared his troops by harangues and presents. About 
four in the afternoon twelve battalions attacked the 
redoubt of trous de loups, and the right part of the 
entrenched camp (9), succeeded in repulsing the 
French from those works, in the trenches of which 
the Ausuians immediately made a lodgement, and 
took six pieces. If their reserves had been able to 
pass the Rhine in sufficient time, the French would 
have retaken these works ; but two boats of the 
bridge having been stove, (coules,) by the fire of the 
cannon at the commencement of the attack, the 
passage was prevented until the bridge was repaired, 
and when reinforcements might have arrived, the 
Austrians were too strongly established, to afford 
any hopes of dislodging them. Fougasses had 
been prepared before the horn works of the Upper 
and Lower Rhine, the Lunette of the Kintzig, and 
the redoubts of trous de loups; but the miners 
retired without having blown up those of this re- 
doubt, the explosion of which might have facilitated 
its recapture. 

The same evening the Austrians attacked the 
Isle of Ehilenrhin. They got possession of 



129 

the Boyaux, in front of the horn work, and which 
the fire of their artillery forced the French to aban- 
don : the latter were repulsed as far as the reduit 
(13) of the flying bridge, and the former succeeded 
iu entering the bastion on the right of the horn 
work. This isle was on the point of being irrepa- 
rably lost to the French, when General Lecourbe 
removed the flying bridge to the left bank in order 
to cut off all hope of retreat: he seized a standard, 
rallied a battalion, and advanced against the Aus- 
trians whom he repulsed as far as their trenches ; 
and it is therefore to the presence of mind this officer 
possessed at this crisis, that the preservation of the 
Isle is to be attributed, the loss of which would 
have accelerated by some days that of Kehl. The 
French remained masters of the horn work, but 
they could not defend the Boyaux and the small 
redoubts which were at the extremity of the Isle, 
as they were taken in reverse by the batteries of 
the Austrians, 

Thus the besiegers obtained a footing in this 
Isle, and against which they had brought an im- 
mense artillery, although the frost and dryness had 
rendered it accessible on all sides, so that it could 
no longer be considered an ilse ; but nevertheless 
the horn work, imperfect as it was, still preserved 
it several days, and although the troops intrusted 
with its defence had no other passage than that of 

R 



130 

the flying bridge, and the communication with the 
fortress was cut off by the loss of a part of the 
entrenched camp, the Austrians, continually pru- 
dent, advanced to the sap against a work which had 
never been complete, and of which the thaw, toge- 
ther with the effect of their artillery, had almost 
destroyed the relief. 

At this period the front of the Austrian saps 
and works were only some metres distant from the 
works which the French maintained, and the former 
increased their artillery, directing it principally upon 
the fire of the communications of the latter, which 
were every where, and even in the Isle of the 
Rhine, extremely dangerous. 

On the 15th the Austrians carried another branch 
of the entrenched camp, and they employed them- 
selves in making a lodgement in the part of that 
work which they had made themselves masters of, 
in connecting it with their trenches at Old Kehl, 
in constructing new batteries, and amongst others the 
battery 84. 

It was understood that the Austrians were pre- 
paring for a fresh attack to celebrate the jour des 
Mois, the 17th mvdse. The horn work of Ehrlen- 
rliin being nearly destroyed, it was not con- 
sidered prudent by the French to maintain that 



131 



place, and General Si Cyr therefore directed that it, 
as well as the iSie de poid, (10,) should be evacuated 
in the night of the 16th, and that only two hun- 
dred grenadiers with one piece of small calibre 
should remain in the reduit, 1 (13,) to retard the es- 
tablishment of the Ausirians in the horn work, and 
facilitate the return of the flying bridge : they had 
left on the right bank the boats necessary for the 
retreat of their grenadiers : and had also determi- 
ned to abandon in the horn work, two pieces of 
cannon, the fire of which, admirably kept up during 
the night, prevented the Austrians from discovering 
the evacution. It happily succeeded, and as it 
had been directed, excepting that the grenadiers 
destined to remain in che reduit threw themselves 
upon the flying bridge, when it was moved to the 
left bank, and that this work, the preservation of 



1 Reduit literally means a nook or bye place; in a military 
sense, it signifies a sort of citadel, which is extremely inconve- 
nient to the inhabitants of the town, because it takes up more 
ground than those that are regularly built, and is, at the same 
time, uncomfortable to the troops, because they must be very 
much crowded. This word is explained by an English Lexi- 
cographer in the following manner: redact or reduit, an advan- 
tageous piece of ground, entrenched and separated from the 
rest of the place, camp, &c. for an army garrison, &c. to retire 
to in case of surprise. Reducts are sometimes made for the pur 
pose of securing different posts in a town independent of its 
citadel. These have been proposed by the celebrated Vauban, 



132 

which might have retarded for a day the esta- 
blishment of the enemy, was abandoned contrary 
to the intentions of the French General. They 
endeavoured to re-embark the same squadrons, and 
to make them retake the reduit ; but since the 
break of day, the Austrians had arrived in great 
strength in the isle, and notwithstanding the fire 
of the French from the left bank, were employed 
in forming lodgements in the ditches of the reduit; 
and it was impossible to pass the Rhine when expo- 
sed to them. 

The French still remained masters of Vile de 
VEstacade, and of that of Escargots, to which they 
communicated by boats, and these two isles were 
their only remaining points on the right of their 
defensive line. 

On the 17th, towards six in the evening, the 
besiegers had advanced their works very near to 
that of the horn work of the Upper Rhine, and the 
left part of the entrenched camp, which the French 
still maintained. After a warm fire from all their 
batteries, the usual prelude of a coup de main, the 
Austrians vigorously attacked the left part of the 
entrenched camp, the redoubt of the Cimetiere; 
and the horn work of the Upper Rhine, from 
which the French had moved all the heavy artil- 



133 

lery, and substituted small calibre. They succeed- 
ed in obtaining possession of the entrenched camp, 
the Cimetih'e redoubt, and had penetrated into 
the place d' amies, and as far as the barrier of the 
horn work, but were afterwards repulsed by the 
10th and 62nd demi-brigades, which drove them 
from the place d 9 armes, and the Cimeticre redoubt. 
They acquired no other advantage from this attack, 
for which they had deployed considerable forces, 
and in which they lost seven hundred men, than 
that ©f a lodgement in the left part of the entrench- 
ed camp, which the progress of their works must 
otherwise have soon forced the French to eva- 
cuate. 

On the 18th and 19th, the Austrians continued 
to advance their works and laboured to perfect the 
battery, (£4,) already commenced, and to construct 
that marked, (25,) both intended to destroy the 
bridge of boats. The first was opened on the 
19th after mid-day: two boats were sunk in the 
evening, several were damaged, but these acci- 
dents were repaired at night fall. At the break 
of day, the Austrians recommenced so brisk and 
well directed a fire upon the bridge of boats, that 
before nine o'clock, five of the boats were sunk, 
and almost all the others damaged. It became 
impossible to repair it in one part before the fire 



134 

from the cannons destroyed it in another, and from 
that period this communication must be regarded 
as impracticable. 

It was wished to establish a flying bridge below 
the bridge of boats : but this new communication 
would have been insufficient ; placed too near the 
extremity of the French left, it would still have 
been exposed to the fire, and would have required 
an extensive circuit to reach Kehl. Moreover, this 
fortress was not in a condition to withstand a vigor- 
ous attack ; almost all the palisadoes were thrown 
down, the trenches partly filled up by the fall of 
the palisadoes, and the arrival of reinforcements 
was become extremely difficult. To maintain it 
any longer would have been to expose the troops 
and artillery employed in its defence to a certain 
capture. The evacuation was therefore deter- 
mined upon. At ten in the morning, whilst the 
establishment of the inferior flying bridge was 
attempted, General Dessaix proposed the evacua- 
tion to General Latour, and it was agreed upon 
between them that the Austrian troops should enter 
Kehl on the 2ist JSTivose, at four in the evening. The 
French instantly essayed to re-establish the bridge, 
which was rendered passable at 2 o'clock. There 
then remained only &4 hours to raze every thing, 
nevertheless so much activity was employed, that 



135 

not a single palisadoe was left for the Austrians : 
all was brought to the right hank, even the car- 
riages of the bombs and howitzers, &c. At four 
o'clock, when the Austrians took possession, in the 
sight of a crowd of spectators of both nations, 
whom the spectacle had attracted to the banks of 
the Rhine, there absolutely did not remain in 
Kehl aught but the earth and ruins. 

Thus finished, after fifty days of open trenches, 
and a hundred and fifteen of investment, one of 
the most celebrated and memorable sieges history 
can record. 

In it is to be seen on one side an array, proud 
of having obliged its enemy to retreat, commanded 
by a Prince whose high birth afforded a magic 
power over soldiers under a discipline approach- 
ing to servitude; all the solemnity of a grand 
siege exercised against imperfect entrenchments, 
but the conquest of which was of great importance, 
rendered circumspect by the ill success of its 
attack on the 2d Complementaire, it adopted a 
kind of warfare which must have been attended 
with success, although tardy; the magnitude of 
its works supplied the place of the enterprize which 
was wanting ; it besieged detached works, deploy- 
ed a formidable artillery against ruins occupied 



136 

by tirailleurs. Nevertheless, by the constant obsti- 
nacy of its adversary, who disputed the ground 
foot by foot, it was forced to an assault on each 
part of the works, when it desired to effect a 
lodgement, and by which it lost in detail, by a 
multitude of trifling actions, more soldiers than 
a general attack would have occasioned. At last, 
after fifty days of fatigue and hard labour, it suc- 
ceeded in its object, but after having lost six 
thousand men, and consumed artillery and ammu- 
nition sufficient for the siege of a place of the first 
strength and magnitude. 

On the other side, one must admire the pro- 
longed resistance of a fortress constructed in haste, 
of which only some parts were fortified, without 
defences, without magazines, without shelter; 
attached to an entrenched camp of a large develop- 
ment, but of which the principal defences, con- 
sisting of swamps and marshes, were reduced to 
nothing by the frost ; of which the only advantage 
is not to be entirely invested and to readily com- 
municate with Strasbourg: one must be astonished, 
that such a place sufficiently imposed on the Aus- 
trians as to prevent them from attempting any thing 
at hazard, and not to act but with the most timid 
prudence. Although defended by troops harassed 
from a long retreat, to whom it was impossible to 



137 

afford, as expeditiously as their situation demanded, 
the requisite and indispensable comforts, the term 
of its defence far exceeded that which had been 
prescribed ; and if it finally underwent the fate of 
besieged places, which it is impossible to succour, 
it carries with its fall the glory of having operated 
as a powerful diversion, and contributed by its long 
resistance to the conquest of one of the most cele- 
brated fortresses in Europe. 1 



►«®e< 



THE French, with a view of preventing their 
opponent from uniting all his forces against the 
fortress of Kehl, had maintained themselves in the 
Ute de pont at Huninguen, which was flanked by a 
horn work, raised on Shuster lusel, an island of the 
Rhine ; it was also protected by the fortress of 
Huninguen, and flanked by several batteries, erected 
on the left bank of the Khiue, above and below that 
place. 

After the retreat of the French army, the com- 
mand was entrusted to General Abatucci, but under 
the direction of General Ferino, and the 3rd demu 

1 It cannot be denied that Kehl, by its long resistance, 
powerfully aided the taking of Mantua. 

S 



138 

brigade of light infantry, 56th and 86th of the line 
were destined for its defence. 

Early in November, Prince Furstemberg, com- 
manding the Austrian army, had invested this place. 
He erected works, and mounted some batteries 
commanding the head of the bridge. 

After ineffectually summoning the French to 
evacuate the tite de pont, the Imperialists began to 
cannonade and bombard it, as well as the Shuster 
Insel and Huniuguen, and their commanding situa- 
tion in a short time enabled them to break the 
bridge, which connects the two banks. By this suc- 
cess the tite de pont was insulated, but the French, 
notwithstanding the continual lire of their enemy, 
repaired it, and re-established the communication 
between the tite de pout and the town of Hunin- 
guen. 

The breaking of the bridge had flattered the 
Imperialists with the hope that the reduction of 
the place would instantly follow. Disappointed, 
however, they directed on the 10th a general 
assault on the entrenchments of the French. The 
Imperialists obtained possession of the half moon 
of the horn work, but which the French retook 
after a bloody engagement. The loss on both sides 
was very severe. General Abatueci fell on the part 
of the French. 



139 

This unsuccessful attempt induced Prince Fur- 
stemberg, who judged that the fate of the tete de 
jpont rested on the issue of the siege of Kehl, to 
content himself with commanding and bombarding 
it. When, however, the reduction of Kehl took 
place, the Archduke sent the heavy artillery to the 
assistance of Prince Furstemberg, and which enabled 
the latter vigorously to attack the tete de jpont and 
the works defending it. 

Unable to make any long resistance, the French 
determined to abandon the right bank of the Rhine, 
on which, after the fall of Kehl, it was of little 
importance for them to remain. On the 2nd of 
February, they agreed to a capitulation, and on the 
5th recrossed the Rhine with their arms and bag- 
gage ; and on the same day, the 5th, the Imperialists 
took possession of the tete de jpont and the 
Shuster Insel. 

This reduction terminated the campaign in Ger- 
many, the result of which found the French in the 
same situation as at its commencement : but they had 
acquired from the campaign invaluable advantages : 
such as having favored the numerous victories of 
the army of Italy, the taking of Mantua, and ex- 
hausted the resources of their enemy, while they 
preserved their own, by supporting themselves at 
the expense of the Imperialists. 



140 

1797. 

About the middle of April 1797, the French 
Pi rectory, acquainted with the critical situation 
In which the present Ruler of France was placed, 
then entangled amidst the Styrian mountains, and 
hearing of the approach of two numerous armies, 
the one from Su.tbia under La-idohn, and the other 
from Hungary, commanded by Alvinzi, with an 
intention to act on his rear, was desirous of a 
prompt and powerful diversion, and therefore gave 
directions for the immediate march of General 
Moreau. 

The safety of the army of Italy, the interest of 
his country and his glory, all imperiously demand- 
ed that the opening of the campaign by the army of 
the Rhine and Moselle should not be delayed, and 
the passage of the Rhine promptly effected. 

On the 19th of April, all the army under General 
Moreau quitted its cantonments, which extended 
from Huninguen to Langau, and marched towards 
the Rhine, which the General designed passing on 
the following night. 

This distinguished officer, whose masterly retreat 
had acquired him a greater proportion of the con- 
fidence of the French people, than could have been 



141 

obtained from a succession of victories, bad no 
bridge over the Rhine, and but one set of pon- 
toons. To establish promptly and with safety a 
bridge, it was necessary to obtain a footing on the 
opposite bank. General Moreau, therefore, in 
order to embarrass his enemy by harassing him 
on several points at the same time, and prevent 
him from directing his force to that, which was 
actually in danger, prepared several false attacks, 
calculated to conceal the real one, which was to 
take place a little below Strasbourg. He intended 
to effect the passage of the river before break of 
day, but the difficulty of assembling sufficient boats 
retarded the embarkation of the troops till six 
o'clock, and for more than two hours before, a 
heavy fire had taken place all the way from Bri- 
sach to Fort Louis, either from the opposite 
bank of the river, or from the little islands pos- 
sessed by the hostile parties. The advanced posts 
of the Imperialists being put on their guard by 
these attacks, it became necessary for General 
Moreau to attempt his passage by open force. 

The attacking force, consisting of 16,000 men, 
he divided into three bodies, under the command 
of Generals Jordis, Davoust, and Duhesme. The 
latter with five battalions first set out from where 
the little river 111 joins the Rhine, and advanced 
towards the opposite bank. The Austrians per- 



142 

ceiving their approach, fired briskly upon the boats, 
but the French, partly covered by the islands, did 
not suffer much, and made good their landing on 
the island nearest the right bank, from which they 
forded a narrow branch of the river, and established 
themselves on the German side. It was defended 
by the ordinary advanced picquets, who, seeing so 
superior a force coming against them, fell back to 
their reserve ; and before sufficient force could be 
assembled to attack the French, their boats had 
time to return to the left bank, and to bring over 
fresh troops. 

To shelter themselves from the fire of artillery 
and a great superiority of force, it became neces- 
sary that this body of troops should make them- 
selves masters of Diersheim, and which they rea- 
dily effected. The Imperialists several times 
attempted to retake it, but in vain. The French 
received continual reinforcements, either by their 
boats or a flying bridge, which they had established : 
and by means of the latter, some pieces of cannon 
and some hundred horse joined them from Stras- 
bourg. Whilst this enabled the French to make 
a more orderly arrangement of their force, the 
Austrians perceived that every hour diminished 
the possibility of obliging them to repass the 
river; and therefore attacked, with the greatest 
intrepidity, Diersheim, into which village they 



143 

penetrated. The French, however, knowing that 
every thing rested on their keeping possession of the 
village, brought up all their force, and a most 
sanguinary engagement took place. 

During the contest, the reinforcements sent to 
the French by means of the boats followed each 
other so rapidly, that they became, in a short 
time, greatly superior to their enemies, who were 
therefore obliged to give up the attack of the 
village ; they lost also that ©f Honau, where the 
French lodged themselves. On the left the Aus- 
trians made another attack, which was also frustra- 
ted by a superior force : and during the night the 
French established a bridge of boats across the river, 
and brought over such an abundance of ammuni- 
tion, artillery, and fresh troops, that on the follow- 
ing morning they were in sufficient force to defy 
all the efforts of the Imperialists. 

General Moreau, being now enabled to act on 
the offensive, immediately formed his army into 
several columns. One gained possession of the 
villages of Lientz and Habine ; another, with the 
greatest facility, took possession of the Fort of 
Kehl, whose protracted and gallant defence, dur- 
ing the preceding year, has been described : its 
fortifications had been imperfectly repaired, and 
the commanding officer, dreading the consequence 



144 

of the assault with which he was threatened, deli- 
vered it up to the French. A third column 
inarched towards the banks of the Kintzig, and 
before night the Imperialists, attacked on all sides, 
had dispersed in different directions. 

The French pursued the Imperialists during 
eight whole days, and at length the army of the Rhine 
and Moselle, with its victorious General, found itself 
in the mountains of the Brisgau. The left wing, 
commanded by General St. Cyr, took possession 
of Helmhingen and Lichtenau ; the centre, under 
General Van damme, penetrated into the adjoining 
valley, and the right approached Fribourg. 

At the moment that General Moreau was ac- 
tively preparing to achieve new triumphs, he 
received a courier from Buonaparte announcing the 
intelligence of the peace, 1 signed at Leoben, and 

1 It was immediately previous to this peace, that Buonaparte 
addressed to the Archduke Charles the letter dated 81st March 
1797, which has been so much panegyrised by his friends 
and supporters ; but which in fact was a mask of policy to 
disguise the ambitious projects that occupied his expansive 
mind. Brave soldiers, he observed, made war but desired 
peace. The war had now lasted six years. Men enough had 
been slaughtered, and evils enough committed against suffering 
humanity. Such, he noticed, were the exclamations on all sides. 
Europe, which had taken up arms against the French repub- 
lic, had laid them down, and Austria alone continued its enemy. 



145 

a suspension of hostilities having been agreed upon 
by Generals Moreau and Latour, it was announced 
to both armies. The first intelligence of the peace 
to the Directory was transmitted by General 
Moreau, and the following message, from that 
body to the Council of Five Hundred, was made on 

Blood was still to flow, a sixth campaign was announced, 
and, whatever might be the result, thousands of gallant soldiers 
must fall a sacrifice. At some period, nevertheless, he observed, 
both parties must come to an understanding, since time brought 
all things to a conclusion, and extinguished the most inveterate 
resentments. 

The French Directory had expressed a desire to terminate 
this ruinous contest, but their pacific overtures were defeated 
by the intervention of the British ministry. Was there then, 
he said, no hope of accommodation ? Must blood still be 
shed to promote the interests, or to gratify the passions, of a 
people far remote from the theatre of war. Are not you, 
addressing himself to the Archduke, who are so nearly allied 
to the Throne, and above the mean passions that usually 
influence ministers, desirous to merit the appellations of bene- 
factor of the human race, and saviour of the German Empire ? 
I do not mean, added he, that your Country cannot be preser- 
ved by your sword, but that, however the chance of war may 
alter in your favor, Germany must still be a sufferer. He 
concluded by assuring the Archduke, that as to himself, were 
his present application to him, to be the means of saving the 
life of a single man, he should be prouder of the civic crown, 
to which he would thereby become intitled, than of the 
melancholy glory resulting from the most brilliant exploits of 
war. 

T 



146 

the 25th of April, respecting the victories in Italy 
and on the Rhine. 

" Citizens Representatives, 

" The armies of the Rhine and Moselle, after 
having favoured the brilliant operations of the army 
of Italy, by driving before them the Imperial troops 
on a former occasion, were no longer to remain 
in a state of inaction ; they have just opened the 
campaign, and the first movements have been 
attended with signal success. The army of the 
Sambre and Meuse, more formidable still by the 
remembrance of some checks they have already 
revenged, rendered the 29th Germinal illustrious 
by a pitched battle and three actions, which imme- 
diately established their positions upon the right 
bank of the Rhine. Among the glorious trophies 
of this victory are seven thousand prisoners of 
war, twenty seven pieces of artillery, seven stan- 
dards, sixty ammunition waggons, &c. 

" The passage of the Upper Rhine, by the army 
of the Rhine and Moselle, was accomplished on 
the 1st Floreal. It seems even to surpass the 
brilliant operation which took place at the com- 
mencement of the last campaign. This brave 
army, more proud perhaps of its retreat from Ba- 



147 

varia, than of the victories that conducted it into 
that country, which obliged the Archduke to consume 
his forces before Kehl, while Mantua called in vain 
to him for succour, has again taken possession of that 
very fort by a coup de main, which it had before 
defended for three months. 

" This passage was accomplished in broad day, 
and by main force, while the enemy were ranged 
in order of battle on the opposite bank. They have 
lost several standards, more than 20 pieces of can- 
non, their military chest, the bureau of the Etat 
Major, and from three to four thousand prisoners of 
war, one of whom is a General, the number of 
killed and wounded is enormous. 

" Thus the enemy, disappointed in all their 
schemes, and every where vanquished, have no 
safety but in that peace, which we have always 
offered them upon equitable terms. 

" The despatch, in which General Moreau informs 
us of the passage of the Rhine by the army of the 
Hhine and Moselle, is terminated by the following 
postscript : f A courier, which I received this mo- 
ment from General Buonaparte, announces to me 
the signing of the preliminaries of peace with the 
Emperor.' 

Signed REWBELL, 
President/' 



148 



1799. 

EARLY in 1799, the Republican forces in Italy 
amounied to 90,000 Frenchmen, and upwards of 
50, 00 Poles, Swiss, Pie »moniese, Genoese, Ro- 
mans or Neapolitans, dispersed from the frontiers of 
Piedmont. They constituted two armies ; the army 
of Italy, and the army of Naples. -The former 
90,000, under General Severer, the successor 
of General Jonbert, 1 occupied the Modenese, the 
state of Genoa, Piedmont, the Milanese, the 
Valtelein, and the countries of Brescia, Bergamo, 
and Mantua. The general hatred of the French 
had rendered the above dispersion indispensably 
necessary, although it reduced the number, who 
could be employed in active operation, to 50,000. 
They were in cantonments on the banks of the lake 
of Garda, of the Mincio, and of the Po, from the 
Tyrolese frontier to the mouth of the last mentioned 
river. 

1 This distinguished officer, together with General Chain - 
pionnet, who in the course of a month had obliged the Neapo-? 
litans to evacuate Rome, seized on Capua and Naples and 
forced the King of the two Sicilies to take refuge in Palermo, 
were at this period, sacrificed to party principles, notwithstand- 
ing they had hitherto conducted the French troops to victory. 
The former was afterwards killed at the battle of Novi, as 
will be seen in the sequel. 



149 

The army of Naples, under the command of 
General Macdonald, the successor of General 
Championnet, amounted to about 40,000 : it occu- 
pied the capital and the conquered part of his Sicilian 
Majesty's dominions, as also Rome and the different 
provinces of the Church. 

The Austrian army, at a short distance from the 
French army of Italy, occupied the parallel line of 
the Adige, from the Italian Tyrol to beyond 
Rovigo. Along this line, about 90,000 men were 
distributed, while the army of reserve, amounting 
nearly to the same number, were cantoned in the 
Trevisano, Carniola, and Friuli. All were under 
the command of General Kray, until Lieutenant- 
General Melas should come to take the chief com- 
mand. 

On the 28th of March, General Scherer put his 
array in motion. He formed it into six divisions, 
which were directed against the three principal 
positions of their opponents. 

General Moreau commanded the left composed 
of three divisions. He bad been sent to Italy by 
the Directory to act as Inspector General, and to 
assist General Scherer with his advice. Moreau 
was directed to move with the left against the right 
of the Imperialists. One of his divisions, supported 



150 

by an armed flotilla upon the lake of Garcia, drove 
the Imperialists from all the detached posts they 
possessed on the heights between the Lake and the 
Adige ; the two other divisions attacked with fixed 
bayonets and carried the entrenehed camp of Pas- 
trengo, where the force of the Imperialists amounted 
to 5,000 men, one half of whom were either put 
to the sword or made prisoners. General Moreau 
pursued the flying enemy so quickly, as not to give 
him time to destroy two bridges he had at Polo. 
Moreau passed the river, and spreading his divi- 
sions upon the left bank towards Verona and 
towards the Tyrol, he cut the line, by which the 
Imperialists held their communications from the 
Upper to the Lower Adige. 

General Scherer commanded the centre in per- 
son : it consisted of two divisions and a body of 
reserve. He attacked the chain of posts which 
covered Yerona, and an obstinate battle ensued. 
The Austrians succeeded in maintaining the posts, 
which constituted the principal strength of their 
position, but with the loss of 8,800 men. The 
French also suffered severely. 

Although the centre was successful, as well as 
the left under General Moreau, it was very differ- 
ent with the right, which had been directed to take 
and burn Legnago. It was twice repuled by the 



151 

Austrian advanced posts, completely routed and 
obliged to fly towards Mantua, having above 
2000 men killed and wounded, with 600 prisoners, 
and 11 pieces of cannon. The Polish legion of 
Dombrousky, composed almost entirely of Austrian 
deserters, having been at this affair, the Austrian 
soldiers, notwithstanding the interference of their 
officers, would give no quarter, but put to death 
every man of that legion, who fell into their 
hands. 

The engagement in this quarter seemed so deci- 
sive in favor of the Austrians, that General Kray 
was on the point of pushing on to Mantua, when a 
courier brought him intelligence of the defeat of his 
right by General Moreau. Leaving therefore a 
corps of observation between Mantua and Legnago, 
notwithstanding the fatigue of his troops, he 
instantly marched them to the support of his right 
and centre. 

On the 27th a part of these reinforcements 
arrived at Verona, and the remainder on the &8th, 
during which two days General Scherer, discon- 
certed by the defeat of his right wing, attempted 
nothing decisive against Yerona. The two armies 
were so near to each other, that on the following 
day they were obliged to agree to a suspension of 
arms, to bury their dead, who lay on the field 



152 

since the £6th, and began already to infect the 
air. 

On the 80tb, at the expiration of the armistice, 
General Moreau directed General Serrurier with 
half his corps, about 10,000 men, to pass the 
Adige, by the bridge of Polo. The latter success- 
fully executed his orders, and attacked the posts of 
the Imperialists, which guarded the left bank, over- 
came them, and advanced till within half a league 
of Verona, while another column endeavoured to 
gain the heights flanking the right of the Austrians 
and the road of Yicenza, upon which General 
Kray had posted the main body of the army. Three 
Austrian columns came up with them on their 
inarch, and attacked them with such spirit, that 
they could not resist, but were obliged to retire to- 
wards their bridge, full three leagues distant. 

The retreat of the French was nothing but a 
continual engagement. Ihey continued it for a 
long time in good order; but, when the left Aus- 
trian column saw that they approached the bridge, 
two battalions of grenadiers, detached from it with 
the greatest rapidity, along the bridge, without firing, 
and using only the bayonet, overcame all resis- 
tance, seized the bridge, and thus all, who had not 
already passed, were cut off. The French column, 
whkh had been sent by tbe- moiuuains> and which, 



153 

in order to arrive at the bridge, had more ground 
to traverse, met with a like fate. A party of it 
immediately laid down their arms, and the rest, 
in endeavouring to escape across the mountains, 
were likewise almost all taken. Two thousand 
men fell into the hands of the Austrians on this day, 
and the French lost all the advantages they had 
gained on the 26th. 

General Scherer, on the 1st April, abandoned 
all the posts which he occupied between the Adige 
and the lake of Garda, and placing a strong garri- 
son in Peschiera, took a position with his left and 
centre beyond the Tartaro, at Maguan, between 
Villa Franca and Ysola-della-Scala, where he 
placed his head quarters, his right wing being before 
Legnago. 

The advanced guard of the Austrians, on the 
same day, occupied the posts abandoned by the en- 
emy on the other side of the Adige, and pushed on 
to Castelnuovo, 

On the following day, the Austrian army en- 
camped on the right bank of the Adige, before 
Verona, and on the road to Villa Franca. These 
first days of the campaign cost the French 10,000 
men in killed, wounded, taken, or deserted. The 

U 



154 

loss of the Austrians amounted to about half that 
number. 

General Scherer, finding that the Austrians 
already acted partially on the offensive, and per- 
ceiving that they would attack him with au irresis- 
tible superiority when they should be joined by large 
reinforcements, which were rapidly advancing, 
judged that but little time remained to give the 
campaign a favorite turn. He resolved therefore 
to make a new effort to drive the Austrians over 
the Adige, and to establish himself on the other side 
of that river. 

General Kray at the same time had formed the 
project of driving the French from their grand 
camp at Magnan, and driving them beyond the 
Tartaro, or, it possible, behind the Mincio. 

It was on the same day that the two armies 
resolved to attack each other. The French army 
already reduced to 30,000 men, moved from their 
camp at Magnan, in three columns, exclusive of 
the advanced guard. The right, consisting of the 
divisions of Generals Victor and Grenier, marched 
to the attack of St. Giacomo along the Adige : the 
centre, consisting of the divisions of Generals Mon- 
trichard and Hatry, was commanded by General 
Moreau, who was charged with dislodging the 



155 

Imperialists posted between Villa Franca and Ve- 
rona. The left, under General Serrurier, formed 
of his own division, was directed to gain possession 
of Villa Franca, and to push on to the Adige : the 
advanced guard, under General Delmas, directed 
its march to Dossobono, half way between Villa 
Franca and Verona, with a view to assist the opera- 
tions of the centre* 

Similar reasons influencing General Kray, his 
plan corresponded with that of the French. His 
army, amounting to 45,000 men, advanced in 
order to attack the latter. The two armies were 
too near each other, as they were marching forward, 
to be long in meeting. The engagement was soon 
begun, and by ten o'clock was general along all 
the front of the line. 

For the first two hours, fortune was favorable 
to the French, who gained ground on all sides. 
General Serrurier ^;ot possession of Villa Franca, 
and maintained himself there. The centre under 
General Morean, and the right, pushed on to Ve- 
rona. The Austrian General Latterman at this 
critical moment advanced with nine battalions, and 
inarched rapidly against the French, to the sound of 
Turkish music : and the French, hitherto victorious, 
attacked both in flank and rear, were at one* 
stopped, broken and put to flight. 



156 

The presence of mind of General Moreau was, 
however, with him. To prevent the Austrians 
from following up this success, he directed his 
column, the centre, reinforced by some troops that 
had remained in reserve, vigorously to charge and 
force the centre of the Austrians, where General 
Kaim commanded. This order was executed in 
the most admirable manner. The Austrian centre 
was compelled to give way, and, notwithstanding 
the greatest exertion on the part of its General, was 
repulsed to within half a league of Verona. Ge- 
eral Lusignan, having then come up to his assist- 
ance, with three battalions of grenadiers, still kept 
in, reserve, the battle was renewed with redoubled 
fury, and long maintained with equal success. 

The obstinacy of the Austrians at last prevailed; 
and the French on this point likewise were broken, 
routed, and pursued with the bayonet at their 
backs. Defeated on the right and in the centre, 
the French could not think of drawing any advan- 
tage from the success they had on their left. Ge- 
neral Serrurier followed the retrograde movement 
of the rest of the army, which it executed with 
great confusion, leaving behind their cannon, am- 
munition waggons, and wounded. 

The trophies of this victory were seventeen 
pieces of cannon, and near three thousand prisoners. 



157 

It cost the victors in killed and wounded, two 
thousand five hundred men. The loss of the 
French in killed and wounded was at least three 
thousand five hundred. 

General Scherer abandoned Villa Franca and 
Ysola-della-Scala on the day after the battle of 
Magnan, and concentrated his army between Man- 
tua and Goito. On the 7th, continuing his retreat, 
he passed the Mincio near Goito, at the same 
time throwing a reinforcement of men and provi- 
sions iuto Peschiera. 

The Austrian van-guard occupied the extent of 
country abandoned by the French, and pushed on 
to Valeggio, where it seized the bridge over the 
Mincio. In the mean time, a flying corps, under 
General Klenau, either sunk or took the armed 
and provision boats of the French on the Po, and 
on the 7th gained possession of the countries of 
Ostiglia and Governovolo ; thus cutting off the com- 
munication between the lower Po and Mantua. 

These successes on the part of the Imperialist* 
encouraged the long suppressed detestations of the 
Italians for the French to break forth. The in- 
habitants of the two banks of the Po, took up arms 
for themselves, cut down the trees of liberty, ab- 



158 

jured all revolutionary insignia, and compelled the 
French troops to disperse about the country, and 
to shut themselves up in Ferrara and Bologna. 
Affairs were equally prosperous in the other extre- 
mity of the line formed by the Imperial army. Ge- 
neral Wuckassowich on the 8th took possession 
of the defile of Rocca d ? \nso, which opened the 
entrance of the Brescian, and placed him in the 
rear of the French army. The latter circumstance 
determined General Scherer to quit the Mincio 
intirely, and to retire behind the Chiesa, thus 
leaving Peschiera and Mantua to their fate. 

General Mel as, who had arrived on the 8th to 
take the command of the Austrian army, sent his 
van-guard, on the iOth, beyond the Mincio, to oc- 
cupy the approaches to Peschiera ; while on the 
left General Klenau pushed oh to the vicinity of 
Mantua. 

On the 13th, the first columns of the Rus- 
sian Auxiliary army, which were immediately 
followed by the others, arrived at Yerona, and 
the day after General Melas, having no longer 
any thing to fear for his rear, passed the Mincio 
with all his army, which on that day he encamped 
near to Campagnola, his head quarters being at 
Valeggio. In this position he was joined by the 
Russian army, about 20,000 fighting men, and by 



159 

Marshal Suwarroff, 1 who took the chief command 
of the troops of the two emperors. 

The first measures of Suwarroff were directed for 
the double blockade of Mantua and Peschiera, to 

1 Fiekl Marshal Suwarroff, who had risen from the ranks, 
through all the intermediate gradations, to that of General in 
Chief, brought with him a reputation established by more than 
fifty campaigns. He first distinguished himself as a partizan 
at the head of a body of light troops, during the seven years, 
war : and afterwards acquired considerable fame by his ex- 
ploits against the Poles, the Tartars, and the Turks. But what 
chiefly fixed the attention of his contemporaries, was his vic- 
tory at Ryminick, which, in addition to the title of Count, 
conferred by two Emperors, had obtained for him the sir-name 
of Riminiski, while his sanguinary exploits at Ismailoff and 
Praga, although demonstrative of the most consummate bra- 
very, attracted the execration, rather than the applause, of man- 
kind. Living among his troops, like an Arab chief with his 
tribe, he obtained their affections by participating in their for- 
tunes, and sharing all their hardships. He had also discovered 
the secret, that the Greek Cross, as well as the Crescent of the 
Mussulmans, was capable of inspiring its followers with fana- 
ticism ; and he omitted no opportunity to exalt the valor of 
his soldiers, by recurring to the popular superstitions of their 
country. Unacquainted with war as a science, he was yet 
passionately enamored of its stratagems and dangers ; and it 
still remained to be proved, whether he was to be considered 
as a fortunate free-booter, delighting in slaughter, and actuated 
by no fixed principles, or a great captain, worthy of the en- 
lightened age in which he happened to live. 

Vide Stevens' Wars of the French Revolution* 



160 

which service he allotted between 18 and 20,000 
men, under the command of General Kray. 

General Seherer, with his army reduced to less 
than 20,000, pursued his retrograde movements on 
the 14th, 15th, and 16th, and on the 17th his right 
passed the Adda. His rear-guard remained on the 
left bank of the Rhine; his left in front of the 
Oglio, behind Brescia ; his head quarters at Lodi, 
which two days afterwards were transferred to Ca- 
lao upon the Oglio, and, by an oblique movement, 
the right of his army approached the left of that 
river, and of Brescia. 

General Seherer was already followed by the 
Allied army : the latter reduced the town and ci- 
tadel of Brescia, and forced the French to abandon 
the Oglio. General Scherer next determined on 
securing the fortified places of Piedmont, and there 
to wait for reinforcements, which were on their way 
from France and Switzerland. It was at this cri- 
tical period, that the Directory were compelled by 
the universal voice of the army to take the command 
of the army of Italy from General Scherer, who 
was generally disliked by the troops, and to confer 
it on General Moreau, whose well-earned military 
reputation had not been diminished by the late 
disastrous events, which the French army had ex- 
perienced. 



161 



General Moreau was invested with the command 
oA the banks of the Adda, where the French army 
was reinforced by some troops from Piedmont, from 
Genoa, and from the interior of France; which, in 
part made up for the sacrifices of men it had been 
obliged to make in forming the garrisons of Mantua, 
Peschiera, Brescia, and Pizzighetone. 

The French positions were as follow : the left 
wing, commanded by Serrurier, defended the Upper 
Adda from Lecco ; on the lake of Como, to Trezzo, 
where it joined to the centre, composed of the di- 
visions of Generals Victor and Grenier, and where 
the Commander in Chief, General Moreau, took 
his station. All the territory comprised between 
Trezzo and Cassano was occupied by these two divi- 
sions. At their right and behind Cassano, was 
placed the main body of their cavalry. The bridge- 
head of Cassano was strongly entrenched and pro- 
tected by the artillery of the castle. It was pro- 
tected likewise by the canal between the Adda and 
Milan, lined with riflemen, and defended by a great 
number of batteries raised along the banks of the 
river. The right of the French army, guarded Jby 
General Delmas, had its principal force at Lodi 
and Pizzighetone. 

The Allies on the 23rd encamped on the banks 
of the Adda, taking their positions along that river, 

X 



162 

and leaving those occupied by the French. Their 
head quarters were at Treviglio. General Kaim's 
division held in check Pizzighetone, observed the 
Lower Adda, and advanced parties beyond the Po, 
to Plaeentia and Parma. 

One of these parties was sent into Parma to 
carry off the Pope, whom the French were conduct- 
ing into France. But the Austrians, who were not in- 
formed of this circumstance, before it was too late, 
did not arrive at their destination till twenty-four 
bours after Pius had been removed from Parma. 

This aged and infirm father of the Catholic 
Church, as he passed by Valence through Dau- 
pheny, was every where received by multitudes of 
people, with sentiments and expressions of sym- 
pathy, respect and veneration. They fell on their 
knees and demanded his blessing, which he be- 
stowed with great goodness and grace, in a very 
affecting manner. After an indisposition of se- 
veral days, he expired at Valance on the 19th 
August, in his eighty-second year. He was elected 
Pope, February 15, 1775- Unslacked lime was 
thrown into the grave to consume his body. 1 

On th« &7th, Suwarroff, unable to turn the 

' Vide Annual Register. 



163 

French line, resolved to force it, and to attack at the 
same time its centre and left points, on which it was 
best defended. General Wuckassowich, in the night 
of the 2(5th, had made himself master of a flying- 
bridge, which the French had but imperfectly de- 
stroyed ; and having quickly repaired it, he march- 
ed four battalions and two squadrons across the 
river, and took up a position at Brivio, an import- 
ant point, situated at the end of a road leadiug to 
Milan, from the lake of Como, on the centre of 
the Allied army: to reach the opposite bank of 
the Adda was not so easy. Some hundreds of 
troops were employed almost all night in carrying 
pontoons and planks, necessary for the construction 
of a bridge, to the edge of the water opposite Trez- 
zo, and at half-after-five the next morning, the bridge 
was completed. 

The Austrian light troops of the centre passed 
the bridge, attacked the division which had occu- 
pied Trezzo, and repulsed it to Pozzo. Between 
the latter place and Brivio, a battle ensued ; but 
the French were driven out of the village with some 
loss. General Melas threw a flying bridge over 
the Adda, and, with his two divisions, joined the 
Commander in Chief at Gorgonzello. 

The French retired towards Milan ; and on 
the folio wing day, the Allies arrived at that city, and. 



164 

took possession of it without difficulty. General 
Serrurier, with the left of the French, having been 
cut off from the centre by General Wuckassowich 
surprising the passage of the Adda at Brivio, and 
his force being reduced to 3000 men, was obliged 
to capitulate to the allies, and himself and troops 
surrendered as prisoners of war. 1 

General Moreau, after the battle of the Adda, 
compelled to yield the Milanese to the Allies, 
found himself in a very embarrassing situation. 
The force with him was scarcely fifteen thousand; 
and what remained on his right and left, hardly 
amounted to 10,000 more. With these he had 
to preserve the communication with Switzerland, 
to defend the approaches of Turin, to cover the 
fortified places of Eastern Piedmont, to secure the 
passes of the Appenines, to leave to the army of 

1 The conditions were, that the whole troops should lay down 
their arms, and be made prisoners of war. The Generals and 
Officers, however, were permitted to return to France, not to 
serve again until exchanged. This last condition was a 
mark of respect shown to the bravery of the old General Ser- 
rurier, and to the probity of his conduct. General Serrurier, 
preserving, under the republican standard, that sense of honor 
which raised him to the rank of Lieutenant under the old 
government, kept himself so pure in the midst of the extor- 
tions committed by the other generals, that he was styled the 
Virgin of the Army, Vide Annual Register. 



165 

Naples the means of effecting its retreat, and to 
suppress the insurrections which were breaking out 
against him on all sides. 

To combat against so many dangers, required 
all the consummate skill of General Moreau : he 
directed his right to fall back from the Adda to 
the Po ; his centre from Milan to Pavia ; and his 
left to No vary. He quitted the latter town, where 
he had his head quarters, and repaired to Turin, to 
put its citadel 1 in a state of defence, and having 
effected this object, he rejoined his army. 

Unable to protect Turin, Tortona, oid Alexan- 
dria, equally well, he wisely determined to leave 
Piedmont to its fate, to dispute the rest of Italy 
inch by inch, and by gaining time to save the 
campaign. General Moreau, on the 7th of May, 
chose a position, by which his right rested on 
Alexandria, and the Tanaro ; and his left on Va- 
lentia and the Po. By this position, on one side 
he supported Tortona, and on the other, by the 
course of the Po, gave some direction to Turin. 
At the same time, he preserved his most important 

1 The whole army of General Moreau would hardly have 
sufficed to form a garrison for the city, but the citadel required 
a much smaller one, and which only he therefore put into a 
state of defence. 



166 

communications with France, and the Genoese 
, territory : and he hoped to fix the attention 
of the Allies in the centre of Italy, to oblige them 
to waste the campaign in a war of posts and sieges, 
and thus to retard, or even to prevent, any project 
of invasion they might form against France, and 
to give the republic time to collect new armies. 

On the 1st of May, Suwarroff put his army in 
motion, and on the 4th, established his head quar- 
ters at Pavia. On the 5th, General Kray, who 
was besieging Peschiera and Mantua, made him- 
self master of the latter. On the same day, he 
invested the castle of Pizzighetone, and General 
Latterman that of Milan. The first surrendered on 
the 9th. 

The injudicious conduct of Suwarroff, who, 
at this period, divided his army, and determined 
to embrace a variety of objects at the same time, 
afforded to General Moreau an opportunity of 
retrieving his loss, and of which that able chieftain 
readily availed himself. The multiplied opera- 
tions, which the Allies undertook 1 at the beginning 

1 The siege of Turin, the investment of Milan, Pizzighetone, 
Alexandria, Tortona, Ferrara, and Bologna; to occupy the 
passes of Susa, Pignerol, and the Col. d'Assiette. Major 
General Hohenzpllern was also posted at Modena, with a con- 



167 

of May, divided their army into a great many 
corps. They were acting on a line almost circular 
round the basin, formed by the Alps and Appe- 
nines, and intersected by the Po. 

On the 14th of May, the allied army passed the 
Serivia, and encamped at St. Juliano; thus taking 
a position on the right flank of General Moreau. 
IS either this nor another movement, by General 
Wuckassowich on the other side, shaking the firm- 
ness of General Moreau, Suvvarroff, hoping to 
weary him out by a new movement, gave orders 
that his army, in the night of the 16th, should fall 
back and pass the Po, near Casa Tisma, and from 
thence to proceed towards Sesia. 

General Moreau, acquainted with the latter 
order, in the night of the 15th, threw a bridge of 
boats over the Bormida, and with ten thousand 
men passed that river on the following morning. 
He overthrew the advanced posts of the allied 
army, and drove them by Marengo towards 
Juliano. An action ensued, in which, after several 
vicissitudes, General Moreau was forced to retreat 
with loss. 



siderable body of troops, and Lieutenant General Ott detached 
with ten thousand men, while the main body of the Russians 
advanced into Piedmont. 



168 

In the afternoon of the 25th, three Austriau 
and one Russian division, more than thirty thou- 
sand strong, encamped within a league of Turin, 
in which General Fiorella was posted with 2500 
men, who, refusing at first to surrender the city, 
retired into the citadel ; from whence he threw 
into the city some balls and shells. 

Four battalions, which had been left at Milan 
with General Latterman, not being sufficient to 
undertake the siege of the castle, Suwarroff directed 
General Hohenzollern to go with six battalions 
and lay siege to the castle of Milan, and which 
capitulated to him on the 23rd. On the following 
day, the city of Ferara was also taken by capitula- 
tion : and four companies of Austrian infantry, 
having embarked on the 24th at the mouth of the 
Po, took possession of Porto Digoro, and on the 
26th, of Porto Primero. The capture of Ferara, 
which followed, completed the establishment of 
the Austrians on the Lower Po. 

General Macdonald, commanding the army of 
Naples, now received instructions from the Direc- 
tory to evacuate the kingdom of Naples, and join 
General Moreau. With his troops in close 
columns, General Macdonald traversed the Romish 
state, and hastened towards Tuscany, the capital 
of which he reached on the 24th of May. He 



169 

found there the division of General Gauthier, 
and established a communication with that of 
General Montrichard, which was opposed to 
General K'enau, in the country of Bologna, and 
in Romagna. The union of all these troops form- 
ed an army of about 25,000 men, composed of 
French, Italians, and Poles. 

To effect an union with General Moreau, Mac- 
donald chose the road between the Appenines and 
the Po, across the Duchies of Modena, Parma, 
and Placentia. On the &6th, he proceeded on his 
inarch, and on the 30th, had his head-quarters at 
Lucca. Meanwhile, General Moreau advanced 
half-way to meet him ; and leaving only his left 
wing in the position of Coni, arrived with his right 
across the maritime Alps at Savona, occupying 
with his centre the Upper Valley of the Tanaro. 
Pushing on a division still further, he occupied, 
with considerable force, the defile of the Bochetta, 
and other passes of the Appenines. All prepara- 
tory measures being taken, General Macdonald 
put his army in motion on the eighth of June, 
marching himself with the centre towards Modena, 
and the other divisions taking the road to Fornovio 
and Rheggio. 

About this period, Suwarroff obtained reinforce- 
ments from, the Courts of St. Petersburg and 

y 



170 

Vienna, which enabled him to mareh forty-five thou- 
sand fighting men to oppose Generals Moreau and 
Macdonald. After two actions with the Impe- 
rialists on the 10th and 12th, Macdonald on the 
13th advanced towards Rheggio, entered Parma 
on the 14th, and on the 15th arrived at Placentia. 
Suwarroff, leaving Wuckassowich with a corps of 
observation, in the province of Mondovi, and 
General Kaim with a brigade to cover, on the 
side of France, the siege of Turin, set out from 
the city on the tenth with the principal part of his 
army, amounting to from twenty-five to thirty 
thousand men, and on the 12th, had his head quar- 
ters at Acqui. 

On the 15th, Suwarroff again set out with little 
more than 20,000. A dreadful battle ensued, 
which was interrupted only by the night, on the 
17th, 18th, and 19th, on both sides of the Trebbia. 
It terminated to the advantage of Suwarroff ; and 
Macdonald, after losing more than a third of his 
army, retired to the positions from which he had 
set out. Suwarroff next hastened back, marching 
his army towards Alexandria, to meet General 
Moreau, who had passed the Appenines, raised 
the bloekade of Tortona, and forced General Belle- 
garde to retreat behind Bormida. Moreau, on the 
approach of the Russian commander, retired to 
Genoa. 



171 

On the &Oth, Turin surrendered to the Impe- 
rialists by capitulation. About the end of June, 
Suwarroff was in a state to oppose 90,000 men to 
the 60,000 of the French, who were, exclusive of 
the garrisons of Mantua, Tortona, and Alexan- 
dria, garrisons which amounted scarcely to 15,000 
men. The advantage that Suwarroff wished to 
derive from his successes was that of conquering 
Tuscany, and taking the three strong places above 
mentioned. 

As soon as Macdonald had removed himself 
from the Appenines, many thousands of the inha- 
bitants of the Province of Arezzo took up arms in 
favor of their Sovereign, and at the same time a 
Cisalpine General, Lahooze, commanding for 
France a corps of Italians, together with his 
troops, deserted the cause of the Republic. 

In these circumstances, Macdonald lost no time 
in continuing his retreat from Tuscany. The 
troops could retreat by the Reviera di Levante ; 
but there was no other mode of saving the artillery, 
the baggage, and the numerous chests filled with 
the spoil of Italy, than to send them by sea. Mac- 
donald therefore sent all that he could collect 
to be transported to Leghorn. Only a small part 
of this could be embarked on board an American 
vessel; in which many officers of the staff as well as 



172 

the civil agents of the republic, took their passage. 
On the IKh, the vessel set sail, and fell into the 
hands of the English, almost in going out of the 
port. On the same day, the garrison of Urbino 
capitulated to the Imperialists, Leghorn followed, 
and Macdonald, whose retreat by the Corniche 
was by this time rendered safe, and in a good mea- 
sure already effected, on the 17th, gave orders for 
the evacuation of the whole of Tuscany. 

Towards the end of July, General Maedonald's 
force, reduced to about 1 3 or 14,000 men, joined 
General Moreau in the environs of Genoa. By 
their re-union, General Moreau had a disposable 
force of 40 or 50,000 men, who were spread from 
the eastern extremity of the State of Genoa, as far 
as Coni, and occupied in that line all the defiles of 
the Appenines. 

On the Slst of July, the fortress Alexandria, 
which was besieged by the Imperialists, had sur- 
rendered by capitulation; that of Mantua followed 
on the 30th, and Tortona some time after, viz. on 
the £3rd of August. 

At the end of July, the mixed party, which had 
succeeded the old directory of France, relying on the 
popularity, which commonly attends newly acquired 
power, created a new army of the Alps, and 



173 

another o the "Rhine, and a plan of general attack 
was formed on the enemy's line in Italy, Switzer- 
land, and Germany. General Joubert was appoint- 
ed to succeed to the command of the army of Italy, 
General Moreau having been appointed to com- 
mand that of the Rhine, but who, from a singular 
attachment to General Joubert, remained with him 
as a volunteer, submitting to act under hie 
orders. 



THE first military operation of General Joubert, 
on taking the command, was the battle of Novi, 
on the 16th of August. 

On the 15th, the French prepared to offer 
battle, being drawn up in their encampment, upon 
the heights terminating the extensive plain of 
Piedmont, and of which the ascent is very difficult. 
Notwithstanding the strength of this advantageous 
situation, Suwarroff, (who knew the French always 
to be the most formidable when the assailants,) by 
whom difficulties were not regarded as obstacles, 
when his plan once formed, warsesolved upon 



174 

engaging General Joubert in this position at five 
the next morning. 

The Republicans received the attack of the 
Imperialists with their usual intrepidity and firm- 
ness; they drove back their centre and right 
wing several times. They appeared to be im- 
moveable in their position, and sustained with 
equal valor repeated charges, so that at noon 
they considered the day as their own. The 
loss of the allies exceeded that of the French, 
until the right wing of the latter began to give 
way, and the French, failing of support from this 
side, could not prevent General Melas, who most 
opportunely came up at the head of sixteen Austrian 
battalions, from turning their flank, and pursuing 
his advantage. 

General Joubert having received a mortal wound, 
the command of this army again devolved upon 
General Moreau, who was under the necessity of 
giving orders for a retreat, after having three hor- 
ses shot under him, and received a ball in his 
clothes. He effected a retreat with his usual 
masterly ability, and in some sort arrested the vic- 
tory in the very hands of the allies. The loss on 
both sides was excessive. 

General Moreau took up a position nearly in 



175 

the line his army had before occupied at Genoa. 
Suwarroff pursued a plan for dispossessing him of 
his situation, and forcing the passages to Genoa, 
either by the way of the Bochetta or the Levant ; 
towards effecting which, General Klenau had made 
some progress ; Suwarroff's ultimate intention being 
to surround and form the siege of Coni. 

The disputes between the coalesced powers, 
however, rendering it impolitic to confine their ex- 
ertions to the same theatre, t it was resolved by the 
respective cabinets, that General Melas should 
continue the war in Italy, while the Russians under 
Suwarroff were to enter Switzerland. 

The Austrians, left to conclude the campaign 
in Italy, without the aid of their Russian allies, 
obtained some partial successes over the French 
on the SSnd and 24th of September, and the latter 
were obliged to retire to Coni. 

General Championnet, having at this period 
been appointed commander-in-chief of the two 
armies of Italy and the Alps, removed his head 
quarters about the end of November to Final; 
not, however, leaving entirely the former position 
on the Appenines, by which he could protect and 
watch Genoa and Coni: but the successes of the 
Austrians enabled them on the 36th of November 



176 

to open the trenches before the latter place, one 
of the strongest fortresses in Europe, and which 
on the 3rd of December surrendered to their 
arms. 

Previously to the latter event, however, the situa- 
tion of the Austrians had been daily improving 
in other parts of Italy. They had obtained pos- 
session of the important posts in the valley of 
Htura. Mondovi, Ceva, and Serraville, had been 
surrendered to the Austrians, and at the close 
of this important campaign, there remained in all 
Italy, only Genoa, and its small territory, in th& 
possession of the French. 



177 



1800. 



IK the year 1800, while Buonaparte was prepa- 
ring to relieve Genoa, and overrun Italy on one 
hand, he determined on the other to carry the war 
into Germany ; and in conformity to the genius of 
the nation over which he now presided, it was 
resolved that the French should act upon the offen- 
sive in both countries. 

General Morean, upon this occasion, was selec- 
ted to command the army of the Danube, and, by 
occupying the attention of the Austrians, prevent 
them from detaching any more forces into Loni- 
bardy. 

The outline of the present did not differ greatly 
from that of the two preceding campaigns ; but the 
means were more proportionate to the end ; it 
was intended to act with large masses against 
inferior numbers, and, by means of a combined 
movement with the armies of Switzerland, Ger- 
many, and Italy, to end the contest with the cap- 
ture of Vienna, 

Z 



178 

On the 20th of April, the French army crossed 
the Bhine in four large divisions, under the re- 
spective commands of Generals Moreau, St. 
Susanne, St. Oyr, and Lecourbe. That under 
St. Susanne advanced to Offenburg, while St. 
Cyr, who crossed the Rhine at Old Brisau, ad- 
vanced to Fribourg. 

The manoeuvres of the latter seemed to indicate 
an intention to form a junction with the former: 
and of course that General Moreau was to pene- 
trate through the black mountains by the valley of 
Kintzig, towards Donaweschingen. St. Snsanne's 
movement, however, was only a feint ; on the S7th 
he received orders to return to Kehl ; and march- 
ing up from thence along the Rhine, he arrived by 
forced marches at Fribourg on the 30th of April. 
St. Cyr, who had reached Fribourg, pursued, 
meanwhile, that course of march which w r as neces- 
sary to form the junction of the whole army between 
Sehwetlingen and Schaffhausen. 

General Moreau, with the division under his 
immediate command, crossed the Rhine at Basle, 
and proceeded to the point where the various divi- 
sions were to meet. General Lecourbe with his 
division crossed the Rhine between Schaffhausen 
and Stein, and after some fighting, and making a 
good number of prisoners, the whole army, with 



179 

the exception of St. Susanne's division, were 
assembled at, and in the environs of, Schaff hausen. 

The admirable masterly manoeuvres of General 
Morean had completely deceived General Kray, 
commanding the Austrians, and the consequences 
were immediate. 

In order to oppose the progress of the French, 
the latter was obliged precipitately to decamp from 
Donaweschingen, into which St. Susanne entered 
on the 3rd of May, and pressed upon the rear of 
the Austrians, stretching out his flanks at the same 
time to the main body of General Moreau's army, 
he endeavoured to establish himself in the lines of 
Stoekach, in order to oppose the lines of the enemy. 
On the same day, the post of Stockach was attacked 
and taken. On the following, General Moreaii 
attacked that of Engen, where General Kray com- 
manded in person — the post was well maintained, 
and the French suffered some loss. In the course 
of this conflict, the Archduke Ferdinand, with a 
body of Austrians under his command, in his 
retreat from Donaweschingen was attacked by St. 
Susanne, and nearly cut off, but by great exertions 
and presence of mind he was enabled to join the 
main army. 



180 

General Kray kept bis post during the night, 
but at day-break commenced a retreat. General 
Moreau immediately pursued ; and on the same 
day, the 5th, attacked the Austrians at Mosskirk, 
15 miles distant from Engen. The Austrians 
defended themselves in the most intrepid manner, 
and the loss on both sides was nearly equal. Gene- 
ral Moreau had four horses killed under him, and 
received an exhausted ball on his breast. On the 9th, 
the Austrians were again attacked at Biberach, and 
on the 1 lth near Memmingen ; in both of which, 
success attended the French arms, and the Aus- 
trians suffered severely. 

General Kray, leaving a considerable body of 
troops under General Mereveldt, to keep up a 
communication with General Reuss in the Voral- 
berg, now retreated to Ulm, for the protection of 
his magazines there, and where he was joined by 
General Sztarray, with the troops under his com- 
mand, and six thousand Eavarian and Wirtemburg 
auxiliares. The French were also concentrated 
on the territory of the city of Ulm, near Rheineck. 
General Kray was desirous of avoiding a battle 
until some promised reinforcements arrived, and as 
no inviting circumstance for an attack presented 
itself, both Generals contented themselves with 
mutual observation. This state of inaction was of 
great service to the French. They levied contribu- 



181 

tions and exacted supplies of corn and provisions 
throughout Franconia and Suabia. 

The plan of co-operation which had been con- 
certed between Ge« eal Moreau and Buonaparte 
began to be developed. The former, while he 
still made a shew of directing his main force to the 
countries on the left bank of the Rhine, detached 
part of his troops towards the lake of Constance, 
whither he afterwards withdrew the main body, with 
an intention to remain on the defensive, and favor 
the operations of the campaign in Italy as much as 
possible, while St. Susanne with his division re- 
mained on the left bank of the Danube, in the 
neighbourhood of Geisligen. 

General Moreau for two months had sought 
nothing farther than to amuse General Kray by 
marches and counter-marches, aud prevent him 
from paying any attention to the affairs of Italy. 
After the battle of Marengo, however, as the con- 
vention concluded in Italy did not extend to Ger- 
many, he determined to penetrate into the heredi- 
tary states. He immediately levied a contribution 
of six millions of livres on the circle of Franconia, 
to enable him to provide for the necessities of his 
troops, and then put his army in motion, on purpose 
to oblige General Kray either to withdraw or fight 
a decisive battle. 



182 

General Kray, however, maintained possession 
of his camp at Ulm, although Lecourbe, who 
had been detached for that purpose, had rendered 
himself master of Augsbourg, and menaced the 
capital of Bavaria. On this, General Moreau 
crossed the Danube with the main body of his 
army, and attacked the troops under General 
Sztarray, posted at Blenheim, and on the very spot 
where Marshal Tallard was defeated by the Duke 
of Marlborough, General Moreau was successful, 
and after a short but obstinate action, he obliged 
the Austrians to abandon Ulm, and retire into 
Franconia. 

General Moreau immediately marched in pur- 
suit of the retreating enemy, and having come up 
with him at Neubourg, a new action ensued, in 
which Moreau was equally successful. Imme- 
diately after the last success, General Moreau 
entered Bavaria,- established his head quarters at 
Munich, and whilst preparing for further victories, 
the armistice was extended to Germany. 



183 



THE refusal of the Austrian Emperor to ratify 
the preliminaries of peace signed by his Plenipo- 
tentiary, Count St. Julian, at Paris, on the &8th of 
July, put an end to the armistice, which ceased to 
have effect on the 7th of September, at one in the 
afternoon. 

In the mean time, grand military preparations 
were made by both parties. The French army 
of the Rhine, seconded on its left by an army 
under Augereau, and on its right by that of the 
Grisons, formed, on the Mayne, as far as the 
entry into the Tyrol, a line ready to advauce on the 
first signal. 

The French army was composed of twelve 
divisions, comprising at least a hundred thousand 
men, and was divided into four corps. One under 
Lecourbe occupied Upper Suabia, Upper Bavaria, 
and the entry of the Tyrol. Another under the 
immediate orders of the Commander in Chief, 
General Moreau, occupied the two banks of the 
lller, as far as Landshut. The 3rd, under Gre- 
nier, held all the left banks of the Danube, nearly 
to Passau, and the right bank of the river, as far as 
the mouth of it, at Altmuck. The 4th, under St. 



184 

Susanne, occupied the country between the Mayn6 
aud the Danube, from Bamberg as far as Aix la 
Cbapelle. 

The Austrian armies occupied a chain of posts 
in front of the French, bending their main force 
to strengthen their line, from the frontiers of Aus- 
tria to the gulph of Venice. In Bohemia, they had 
an army of thirty thousand, under the Archduke 
Charles. They occupied the right banks of the 
Mayne in great force ; and an army under General 
Klenau, in the Upper Palatinate, was opposed to 
St. Susanne, whose'head quarters were at Mayence. 

On the 24th November, Augereau drove the 
Austrians from Aschaffenburg, and marrhed 
through Franeonia towards Bohemia, to commu- 
nicate with the left of the division under General 
Moreau. On the 29th, General Moreau recom- 
menced hostilities near the Inn, and carried the 
works at Wassenberg. In a battle at Haag, on 
the 1st December, he was less successful, and forced 
to retreat. 

On the 3rd, the Archduke John, who commanded 
on the 1st, encouraged by his success, assaulted at 
the head of three columns the French post at 
Hohenlinden, 



185 

The Archduke bad no sooner begun bis mareb 
than a severe fall of snow took place by which his 
march was so much retarded, as to prevent that 
regularity in point of operation, which ought always 
to accompany a combined movement. Only the 
centre column arrived at the point of destination 
at the time when all the divisions ought to have 
been ready for action. 

General Moreau directed General Richepanse 
to assail the centre column in flank, at the moment 
it commenced an attack, and this unexpected evo- 
lution produced great confusion : the left column 
being pierced nearly at the same time, while the 
right encountered unexpected obstacles. At 8 in 
the afternoon, the Imperialists were forced to retire, 
and were vigorously pursued by the active Com- 
mander in Chief, whose forces hung upon the rear 
of the Austrians, with such effect, that night alone 
saved the latter from intire destruction. 

The French took 10 pieces of cannon, 200 cais* 
sons, 10,000 prisoners, and a great number of offi- 
cers ; among whom were three Generals. The loss 
of the French did not exceed one thousand in killed, 
wounded, and missing. 

The critical situation of the Austrian Monarchy 
after the battle of Hohenlinden, obliged the Empe- 

A 2 



186 

for to detach himself from his Allies, to" procure 
an armistice from the French, and finally to con- 
elude the peace of Luneville. 1 

The termination of the Campaign of 1800-1801 
found the Emperor Francis II. in a much worse 
situation, than at the treaty of Leoben. In his 
capacity of King of Hungary and Bohemia, he was 
under the necessity of acceding to the propositions 
of a separate peace, the conditions of which were 
excessively hard, and he was obliged to make im- 
mense sacrifices. 

General Moreau, n according to the Emperor 
Francis an armistice of only forty-five days, had 
obliged him to consent that the Tyrol should be 
wholly evacuated, and the fortresses of the Brunau 
and Wurtzbourg delivered up to the French : and 
when afterwards a cessation of hostilities was ob- 
tained by the Emperor in Italy, it was only on the 
conditions of the surrender of Peschiera, Sermione, 
Verona, Legnano, Ferara, and Aneona. More- 
over, in consequence of the preliminary articles 
signed at Luneville, Mantua was also delivered up ; 
and the Austrian Netherlands were ceded in per- 
petuity to France, as well as the whole of the bank 
of the Rhine with the county of Fulkenstein and 

February 9, 1801. 



187 

the Frickthal, by a definitive treaty, afterwards ra- 
tified by the Empire on the 7th September, 1801. 

At the latter period all the principal articles of 
the treaty of Campo Formio were confirmed, the 
Cisalpine and Ligurian Republics were recognised, 
and the Dutchy of Tuscany, now converted into a 
kingdom, under the appellation of Etruria, was be- 
stowed upon Louis I. the hereditary Prince of 
Parma. 

Buonaparte notified the conclusion of the war to 
the Tribunate and the Conservative Senate. The 
war had lasted the same number of years as the 
siege of Troy ; and it proved a subject of great exul- 
tation to the French nation. 

The First Consul, whilst he congratulated the 
nation on the one hand, confidently asserted on the 
other, that it was the ambition of England alone 
which still continued to disturb the tranquillity of 
mankind. 

He observed, " The Continental peace has been 
signed at Luneville. It is such as the French 
people desired. Their first wish was the boundary 
of the Rhine. Reverses never shook their resolu- 
tion : victory never added to their pretensions. 



188 

u After having re-established the ancient limits 
of Gaul, they had to give freedom to the people, 
who were united to them by one common origin, 
as well as by a community of interest and of man- 
ners. 

i4 The liberty of the Cisalpines and of Liguria is 
secured. 



" After this duty, there was another, which jus- 
tice and generosity imposed. 

" The King of Spain had been faithful to our 
cause, and suffered for it. Neither our reverses, 
nor the perfidious insinuations of our enemies, 
could detach him from our interests : he will have 
a just recompence— a Prince of his blood is to sit 
on the throne of Tuscany. 

" He will remember what he owes to the fidelity 
of Spain, and to the friendship of France; his road- 
steads and his ports will be shut against our ene- 
mies, and will become the asylum of our commerce 
and our ships. 

" Austria, and it is this which is the pledge of 
peace, Austria, henceforth separated from the Re- 
public by vast regions, will no longer feel that ri> 



189 

valry, those heart-burnings, which for so many ages' 
have occasioned the ferment of these two powers, 
and the calamities of Europe. 

" By this treaty every thing is settled with re- 
spect to France ; it will no longer have to struggle 
against the forms and the intrigues of a congress. 

" The government owes the expression of its sa- 
tisfaction to the minister plenipotentiary, who has 
conducted the negociation to this happy termina- 
tion. There remain neither interpretations to be 
feared, nor explanations to be demanded, nor those 
equivocal arrangements in which the diplomatic 
art deposits the seeds of a new war. 

" Wherefore was not this treaty, the treaty of a 
general peace ? This was the wish of France. 
This was the constant object of the efforts of the 
government. 

" But its efforts are in vain. All Europe knows 
that the British minister has endeavoured to frus- 
trate the negotiations at Luneville. 

"In vain did an agent, authorised by the go- 
vernment, declare to him, on the 9th October, 
1800, that France was ready to enter into a se- 
parate negociation. This declaration only pro- 



190 

cluced a refusal, under the pretext that England 
could not abandon her ally. Since then, when this 
ally consents to treat without England, that govern- 
ment seeks other means to delay a peace so neces- 
sary to the world. 

"It violates conventions which humanity had 
consecrated, and declares war against miserable 
fishermen. 

"It raises pretensions contrary to the dignity 
and the rights of all nations. The whole com- 
merce of Asia and of immense colonies does not 
satisfy its ambition. All the seas must submit to 
the exclusive sovereignty of England. It arms 
against Russia, Denmark, and Sweden ; because 
Russia, Denmark, and Sweden have secured, by 
treaties of guaranty, their sovereignty, and the in- 
dependence of their flags. 

"The powers of the North, unjustly attacked, 
have a right to reekon upon France. The French 
government will avenge with them a common in- 
jury to all nations ; without ever losing sight, how- 
ever, that it ought only to fight for peace, and for 
the good of the world. " 



191 



WHEN the Directory and the Councils of 
France determined to do honor to Buonaparte, by 
a splendid feast in the church of St. Sulpice, trans- 
formed into the temple of Victory, Buonaparte, 
anxious to prevent any sentiments of rivalry and 
opposition on the part of General Moreau, to 
the ambitious projects which he had in view, 
and desirous of gaining his confidence and favor, 
requested that General Moreau might also be 
invited, and conjoined with himself in every sen- 
timent intended to be expressed by that entertain- 
ment, and which request was readily complied 
with. 

The first time General Moreau met the present 
Ruler of France, was in the house of the Presi- 
dent of the Directory, Gobier. "General/' ob- 
served Buonaparte to the departed chieftain, "I 
had several of your Lieutenants in Egypt, and 
they are very distinguished officers." He also 
presented him with a magnificent pair of pis- 
tols, saying, " I could have wished to have had all 
your victories engraved upon them, but there 
would not have been room enough." 

Although General Moreau at this time was 



192 

in the judgment of the principal military characters, 
superior to Buonaparte, yet in the public eye he 
was secondary. The dazzling splendor of Buona- 
parte's fame had captivated the French people, and 
indeed had gained him panegyrists 1 in all parts 
of Europe, by whom he was regarded as the 
brightest character that had ever shone ; and 
Moreau, less ambitious than Buonaparte, was con- 
tent to be among the first in the train of this favorite 
of fortune. 

The 7th of November was fixed upon for the 
feast in honor of the two Generals, and the walls 
of the Temple of Tictory were decorated with an 
immense number of standards, taken in the course 
of the war from the enemies of the French Repub- 
lic ; but this magnificent feast was characterized 
from beginning to end by silence. One of its 
objects was to lull the suspicion of an approaching 
political explosion, but the active jacobins, though 
members of the legislature, absenting themselves, 



1 In an English work of great celebrity is the following ob- 
servation; "Buonaparte, to the advantage of military renown, 
added that of moderation, prudence, and a regard not only 
for civil rights, but also for religion. His letters, his speeches, 
his actions, all proclaimed a sublimity of courage, imagina- 
tion, and design, beyond the limits of vulgar concep- 
tion, &c. ? ' 



19S 

it by no means succeeded: and on the contrary 
afforded stronger grounds for suspicion. 

It is said that Buonaparte communicated his 
plans to General Moreau, who, whatever he might 
think, either of their stability, practicability, or 
extent, was certainly too wise to state his opiuion 
upon these subjects. He, however, although he 
did not, and indeed he could not, oppose the eleva- 
tion he foresaw, it is said, even in the outset, much 
regretted the event. 



B a. 



194 



THE campaign of 1800, 1801, was the last, 
excepting that of 1813, in which the grand mili- 
tary talents of General Moreau were exercised, 
and in which, as well as in his preceding cam- 
paigns, he had no less distinguished himself by his 
consummate skill in the art of war, than by his 
hamanity in softening its rigors and distresses, when 
opportunities offered. 

I am now arrived at an epocha in the life of this 
distinguished individual, which but for the cha- 
racter and views of his rival and antagonist, would 
be involved in darkness and mystery. General 
Moreau was a man who saw not passing events with 
the casual glance of a superficial observer : he pene- 
trated into the schemes of politicians, he read their 
desigus, and foresaw their effects. 

In the month of February, 1804, before the de- 
signs of Buonaparte upon the monarchy of France 
had unfolded themselves to the world, a few dis- 
tinguished individuals, who were well acquainted 
with his ambitious projects, jealous of the honor 
and freedom of their country, entered into a com- 
pact either to relieve it from the system of tyranny 
he had commenced, or prescribe boundaries to his 
ambition. 



195 

General Pichegru, Georges, Cadoudal, (formerly 
a chief of the insurgents in Brittany,) and Lajol- 
lais, a friend of General Pichegru, were implica- 
ted in this conspiracy, and it was believed from 
appearances at the time, that General Moreau had 
to a certain extent entered into the views of the 
conspirators ; but a perusal of the trial of Pichegru* 
Georges, and their friends, must convince every 
individual that General Moreau, if acquainted with 
a part of the plan, certainly did not intend giving 
to it any support. 

At the commencement of the campaign of 1798, 
the fortune of war had thrown into the hands of 
General Moreau the baggage of the Austrian 
General Klinglin, wherein were discovered papers 
in cypher which left no room to doubt that a plan 
was formed to effect a counter-revolution, and that 
communications for that purpose were carried on 
between General Pichegru, the Prince de Conde, 
and the British Minister, Mr. Wickham. 

The friendship General Moreau entertained for 
General Pichegru, made him desirous of suppress- 
ing these papers : he was however obliged finally 
to make a confidential discovery to Barthelemy, 
but which action was not condemned even by 
General Pichegru. 



196 

The delinquency of General Piehegru, tire 
bosom friend of General Moreau, and his preceptor 
in the art of war, as well as the reserve and mystery 
observed by General Moreau, in regard to the 
correspondence and papers in cypher, determined 
Buonaparte to involve, if possible, that upright 
character in ruin : and although the industry of 
his emissaries could not adduce one proof of his 
having embarked in the conspiracy, yet he was ar- 
rested and treated as an enemy to the state. 

General Moreau 1 together with Lajollais, and 

1 Buonaparte was fully sensible of the many virtues of 
General Moreau ; of the universal respect and esteem with 
which he was regarded throughout France; and that he might 
become at one time a powerful and successful adversary to 
his schemes of ambition. He was moreover acquainted with 
many satirical observations the General had publicly made 
on his conduct; they rankled in his heart and fixed his deter- 
mination to attempt his ruin. One of the satirical observa- 
tions of the General I shall here notice. Some time before 
General Pichegru's plot was discovered, General Moreau gave 
a grand dinner at his house at Grosbois, to the principal 
officers who had served under him. The dinner was much 
admired by every person present, and afterwards the Maitre 
iP-hom having been sent for, he was informed, that as the dinner 
was highly approved, the company had directed he should be 
presented with a saucepan cPhonneuv. This satire was in 
derision of the Fucets dPhonneur, Baguette (Drumsticks) d'hon- 
neur, &c. which Buonaparte at that time distributed to his 



197 

some other persons obnoxious to the first consul, 
were arrested on the 17th of February, 1804, and 
the following report of the Grand Judge, Minister 
of Justice to the Government, was read to the Tri- 
bunal. 

a Citizen first Consul, 

" New plots have been hatched by England. This 
was the case even amidst the peace which she swore 
to maintain, and when she violated the treaty of 
Amiens, she counted less on her strength, than on 
the success of her machinations. But government 
was vigilant ; the steps of the agents of the enemy 
were followed by the eye of justice : the people of 
London were no doubt expecting to hear of the 
explosion of that mine, which had been dug under 
our feet. At any rate the most ominous reports 
were spread, and they were indulging the most 
criminal hopes ; — on a sudden the agents of the 
conspiracy were arrested ; proofs have accumula- 
ted, and they are so strong and so evident that 
they carry with them conviction to every mind. 

u Georges and his band of assassins had remained 
in the pay of England 5 the agents were still tra- 



army with a view of rendering himself popular. This satire 
was soon publicly known, and occasioned many others on the 
same subject throughout Paris. 



198 

versing La Vendee, Morbilian, the C6tes Du 
Nord, and were endeavouring, but in vain, to find 
partizans, of whom they were deprived by the 
moderation of government and of the laws. 

" Pichegru, unmasked by the events which pre- 
ceded the 18th Fructidor, year 5, (Sept. 5th, 
1797) and convicted, in particular, by that corres- 
pondence which General Moreau had addressed to 
the Directory, had carried with him to England his 
hatred against his country. In the year eight, he 
and Villot were in the train of the armies of our 
enemy, in order to unite with the brigands of the 
South. In the year nine he conspired with the 
committee of Bareuth, and since the peace of 
Amiens, he has still been the hope and the coun- 
sellor of the enemies of France. 

"The British perfidy associated Georges with 
Pichegru — the infamous Georges, with that Piche- 
gru whom France has esteemed, whom she wished 
for a long time to consider as incapable of treachery. 
In the year eleven a criminal reconciliation united 
Pichegru and Moreau, two men between whom 
honor ought to place eternal hatred. The Police 
seized at Calais one of their agents, at the mo- 
ment when he was returning a second time from 
England. This man had in his possession docu- 
ments, which confirmed the reality of a reconcilia- 



199 

tion at that time inexplicable, had not the bonds 
which united them been formed by criminality. 

"On the arrest of this agent. General Moreau 
appeared for a moment to be agitated. He took 
some private steps to ascertain whether government 
was informed of it; but it was passed over in 
silence, and he himself, when he recovered his 
tranquillity, concealed from government an event 
which could not but awaken its vigilance. He ob- 
served silence even when Pichegru was publicly 
admitted into the councils of the British ministry, 
when he united in a notorious manner with the 
enemies of France. Government was disposed to 
consider his silence as arising from the dread of 
a confession which would have humbled him, as it 
considered his retirement from public affairs, his 
suspicious connexions, and his imprudent lan- 
guage, as the effect of peevishness and discontent. 

" General Moreau, who could not fail of being 
suspected, since he maintained a secret correspon- 
dence with the enemies of his country, and who in 
consequence of this suspicion, which was too well 
founded, would at any other period have been 
arrested, was suffered to enjoy in tranquillity his 
honors, an immense fortune, and the kindness of 
the Republic. Events, however, rapidly succeeded 
each other. Lajollais, the friend and confidant of 



200 

Pichegru, went privately from Paris to London, 
returned to Paris, carried to Pichegru the ideas 
of General Moreau — carried back to Moreau the 
ideas and designs of Pichegru and his associates ; 
the Brigands of Georges were preparing, even in 
Paris, every thing that was necessary for the 
execution of their common designs. 

" A place was assigned between Dieppe and 
Treport, at a distance from molestation or the eye 
of vigilance, where the brigands of England 
brought over in English ships, landed without being 
observed, and where they found corrupted men to 
receive them, men paid to conduct them during 
the night from fixed stations, previously agreed on, 
and thus to convey them to Paris. 

" At Paris lurking places were procured for them, 
hired before hand, where they had confidants to 
protect them ; they had some of these in different 
quarters and streets at Chaillot, in the rue de Bacq, 
in the Fauxbourg St. Marceau, in the Marrais. 
A first debarkation was effected, consisting of 
Georges himself, and eight of his brigands. Georges 
returned to the coast to assist at the landing of 
Coster St. Victor, condemned by a sentence passed 
in the affair of JSTivdse three, and of ten other bri- 
gands. 



201 

a In the commencement of the present month 
a third landing was effected. It consisted of Piche- 
gru, . Lajollais, Arnaud, Gaillard, (brother of 
Raould,) John Marie, (one of the first confidants 
of Georges,) and some other brigands of the same 
stamp. 

" Georges with Joyau, called Dassar, St. Vin- 
cent, and Picot, went to receive this third debarka- 
tion : the whole assembled at the farm de la poterie. 

" A fourth landing was expected ; the vessels 
were in sight, but contrary winds prevented them 
from approaching; a few days ago they were still 
making signals. Georges and Pichegru arrived at 
Paris, where they lodged in the same house, sur- 
rounded by about thirty brigands under the com- 
mand of Georges : an interview took place between 
them and Moreau ; the place, the day, and the 
hour, where the first conference was held, are 
known — a second was agreed upon, but did nofe 
take place — a third and a fourth took place, even 
in the house of General Moreau. 

"The presence of Georges and Pichegru at 
Paris, those conferences with General Moreau, 
are confirmed by incontestible and numerous 
proofs. Georges and Pichegru have been traced 

3 C 



202 

from house to house. Search has also been 
made for those who assisted at their landing ; 
those who, under the cloud, conducted them 
from post to post ; those who gave them an 
asylum at Paris ; their confidants and accomplices. 
Lajollais, their principal agent, and General Mo- 
reau are arrested : the effects and papers of Pi- 
chegru have been seized, and the police is employ- 
ing the greatest activity to find him. 

u England wishes to overthrow our government, 
and by this overthrow to effect the ruin of France, 
to deliver it up to ages of civil war and confusion. 
But to overturn a government, maintained by the 
affection of thirty million of citizens, and surround- 
ed by a brave, powerful, and faithful army, was a 
task, not only superior to the strength of England, 
but of all Europe. 

"England, therefore, had no hopes of accom- 
plishing her design, but by the assassination of the 
First Consul, and by covering this assassination 
under the shadow of a man, who was still pro- 
tected by the remembrance of his services. I must 
add, that the citizens need be under no uneasiness. 
The greater part of the brigands have been arrested, 
the rest have fled, and are closely pursued by the 
police. No suspicion attaches to any class of 
citizens, or to any branch of administration. 



203 

"I shall not give any further details in this report; 
you have seen all the papers; you will, therefore,, 
give orders for their being laid before the eyes of 
justice. Signed by the Grand Judge, Minister of 
Justice, 

" Regnier. 
" Certified in due form, the Secretary of State, 

" H. B. Maret." 



The Brother of General Moreau, who was a 
Member of the Tribunate, immediately addressed 
that assembly, testifying the deepest concern to find 
that endeavours were making to traduce a man 
who had rendered such important services to the 
Republic. He made a solemn protestation of his 
brother's innocence, complained that he was depri- 
ved of the liberty to offer an exculpation of himself, 
and demanded that he should be brought to trial, 
when he pledged himself that the innocence of 
General Moreau should be made manifest. 

The Tribunate replied, that the defence of 
General Moreau should have all the latitude, 
liberty, and publicity, of which so important a cause 
was susceptible. 

Deputations from all the bodies, of which the 
government was composed, presented themselves 



* 



204 

before the First Consul, deprecating in the strong- 
est language the conduct of England in the conspi- 
racy which had been revealed. The most remark- 
able passage in the addresses was used by the Presi- 
dent of the Tribunate, Joubert, and was as 
follows : 

" While we imagined, Citizen First Consul, that 
you had nothing to dread but the dangers of legiti- 
mate war, the perfidy of the English government sur- 
rounded you with new snares. What a humilia- 
ting avowal of its inability to combat with open arms 
the repairing genius of France ! ! \" 

Buonaparte replied to these addresses, that, since 
he had attained the chief magistracy, many plots 
had been formed against his life. Educated in camps, 
he never regarded, as important, dangers which 
caused in him no fear. But he could not avoid ex- 
periencing a serious and painful feeling, when he 
reflected on the situation in which that great nation 
would have been involved, had this last conspiracy 
succeeded : for it was principally against the glory, 
the liberty, and the destiny of the French people that 
it was planned. 

He had long since renounced the hope of enjoying 
the pleasures of private life. All his days were 
employed in Mailing the duties, which his fate and 



205 

the will of the French People had imposed upon 
him. Heaven would watch over Fiance, and 
defeat the stratagems of the wicked. The citizens 
might be free from alarm — his life would conti- 
nue as long as it should be of utility to the nation. 
But he wished the French people to understand, 
that without their confidence and affection, exist- 
ence would be to him without consolation, and to 
them without an object. 

These measures were accompanied by commu- 
nications to the same effect issued in general orders 
to the French armies, and were followed of course 
by corresponding addresses. General Pichegru, 
although still in Paris, had contrived to elude the 
vigilance of the police : notwithstanding a procla- 
mation had been issued, offering a reward of a 
million of livres for his apprehension. He was 
however, at length betrayed by the person with 
whom he lodged, an exchange broker of the name 
of Blanc, and arrested on the 28th of February.- 

f The following is the last letter written by General Piche,- 
gru to this eeuntry ; which, together with the subjoined re- 
marks, deserves attention. 

Le 18 Janv. de 5 Lieues dans le rivage. 

Je vous ai eerit de fa Rade de Oouvres le soir du Samedi 16. 

Le lendemain a 4. h. du matin nous remimes a la voile, et dans 

lanuit du 16 nous avons debarque heureusement avec un pro- 

nostic extraordinaire, pour s'etre deja renouvelle trois fois. J'en 



206 

Blanc, however, did not escape unpunished for 

fus frappe d'abord. mais je l'ai ete bien davantage, lorsque 
ceux qui nous ont devance ici m'ont dit que la meme chose 
leur etoit arrivee. Voici ce que c'est : au moment ou les cha- 
loupes ont aborde le rivage, une etoile, ou feu aerien, d'un eclat 
extraordinaire, s'est venu tomber directement devani nous, com- 
me pour nous indiquer ie point de debarquement et suppleer 
aux personnes qui devoient nous y attendre, et qui ne s'y trou- 
voient pas, parceque ce n'etoit pas une place de rendezvous; A. 
et La Rive, qui arrivent a l'instant de Paris, qui comme vous 
savez ont debarque separement, nous ont dit avoir remarque 
la meme chose. Je me flatte que ce phenomene est d'un 
heureux presage, et je desire que tout ce que j'aurai vu d'ici a 
peu de jours me confirmera dans cette esperance. Nous par- 
tons d'ici ce soir, et La Rive me dit que nous ne pourrons etre a 
Paris avantDimanche ou Lundi. Je detache d'ici M. Frederic 
pour aller par la voie la plus prompte, je veux dire la poste,, 
prevenir de notre arrivee, de maniere que j'espere voir et savoir 
a quoi m'en tenir dans les premiers jours de la semaine pro- 
chaine. Je vous ecrirai aussitot. A. retourne avec nous et 
sera probablement porteur de ma premiere, surtout si elle a k 
vous annoncer ce que nous desirons. 

Notre voyage n'aura j'espere d'autres desagremens que ceux 
resultans des mauvais chemins, des mauvais temps, et des 
marches de nuit. Toutes les troupes sont concentrees des envi- 
rons de Boulogne a Flessingues, de maniere qu'il n'y en a pres- 
que point d'ici a Paris. De Coise y est retourne depuis en^ 
viron 8 jours; on croit bien decidement qu'il tenter a la de- 
scente et il vient de mettre (d'hier seulement) tous les batteaux 
de la cote en requisition. 

Adieu, mon cher Baron, j'espere vous donner prochainement 
de nos nouvelles. J'y mettrai plus de celerite si elles peuvent 
etre aussi favorables que je le desire. Faites moi le plais ir de 



207 

his treachery. Murat, who had signed the pro- 

communiquer ces deux mots a Eug. Couchery n'ayant pas 
le temps de lui ecrire : Portez vous aussi bien que nous. — All is 
well. B on * o/Roll. 

The following remarks on his tactics, manners, and person, 
are extracted and translated from a work entitled, « Histoire 
Chronologique des operations de l'armee du nord, et de celle de 
Sambre et Meuse, par le citoyen David, Temoin de la plupart 
de leurs Exploits." 

The tactics of General Pichegru are of a nature altogether 
new and original. His system consists wholly in pursuing the 
enemy without intermission ; in courting opportunities of en- 
gagements ; in keeping his whole force together, without di- 
viding it for the purpose of carrying on sieges; to reduce 
only such as are necessary, in order to secure proper positions, 
without seeming to be at all concerned about the reduction of 
such strong places as he had left behind him. This system of 
military tactics, was the only one that was suitable to our si- 
tuation ; and further, it was the only system that suited the 
character of the French. It was not to be doubted, that our 
troops were full of courage and bravery; but that the greater 
part of them was newly levied, arid not sufficiently trained in 
sieges, for the purpose of undertaking a siege of any difficulty. 
Farther still, the French soldier is too ardent and impatient to go 
through with a chain of operations that require perseverance. 
In the field, he darts forth like an eagle, and fights like a lion* 
But a long and arduous siege repels, and even oftentimes dis- 
courages him. In order to have a military body of men perfect 
and invincible, it would be necessary to carry on sieges with 
Swiss troops, and to have French armies of observation. But 
while a general has only Frenchmen under his command, he 
ought not to let them grow restive by remaining long in one 



208 

elamation, had him arrested and exiled from 
Paris. 

On the £9tb, a law was proposed and passed in 
a single sitting, to punish with death every person 
who should afford an asylum to Georges^ or any 
of his accomplices. 

Georges was taken on the 9th of March, ac- 
companied by a person of the name of Leridan : 
he killed with a pistol shot one of the police offi- 
cers, and wounded another. 

It was not unknown in Paris that the jealousy of 
Buonaparte had long been excited against General 



place, but to keep them always in breath, and always within view 
of the enemy. If Pichegru had obeyed the orders of the 
Committee of Public Safety, if he had not known the character 
of the French, and adopted an unusual system of tactics, he 
would have sacrificed fifty thousand men at least before our 
towns of Hainault. Perhaps he might have been beaten, and 
even in case of success and victory, he most assuredly would 
not have been able to push his conquests even to the Nortern 
Sea and the confines of Westphalia. 

General Pichegru possessed a fine understanding, as well as 
great knowledge and skill in military affairs: but the most pro- 
minent feature in his character was a manly boldness; simpli- 
city and strength of mind; which, scorning defiles, advanced 
as directly as possible to its object. 



209 

Moreau, on his account of his military reputation, 
his probity, his moderation, and disinterestedness. 
He was adored by a great proportion of the army, 
and possessed the esteem of all well disposed per- 
sons. He was also considered as the natural rival 
of Buonaparte, and looked up to as the only person 
who was able to deliver France from his sway. 

It w r as not therefore unlikely that Buonaparte 
should be anxious to rid himself of this formidable 
barrier to supreme power: but nevertheless the 
state of parties in France, and the popularity of 
General Moreau, rendered it necessary for Buo- 
naparte to exert all his capabilities for manoeuvre 
and intrigue to mask his real plans against General 
Moreau. 



Even after the arrest of General Moreau, Buo- 
naparte perceived the necessity of proceeding 
against him with the most guarded caution. The 
trial lasted nearly three weeks, from nine in the 
morning until six in the evening. During its 
progress, General Moreau was received in the hall 
with enthusiastic applause, and throughout he dis- 
played the greatest firmness. 

The sentence of the Judges was, that General 
Moreau was not guilty of the charges alleged 
against him by the Tribunate, but that his con- 

2D 



210 

duet had been inconsiderate. And they therefore 
sentenced him to two years imprisonment. 

A fear of raising the indignation of the array, 
induced the First Consul to remit the punishment 
decreed to that of banishment. A letter which 
General Moreau addressed to him, was made the 
plea for this lenity, and General Moreau imme- 
diately quitted Paris. 1 He went first to Spain, and 

1 In General Sarrazin's " Confessions of Buonaparte to the 
Abbe Maury," the following statement of these transactions 
is given. " At London I had an enemy in Pichegru, who though 
only of the second order, was dangerous for his talents and 
reputation. Georges had a great influence in the Western 
Provinces. Moreau caused me much uneasiness. His wife, 
and more particularly his mother-in-law, had exasperated him 
against me to such a degree, that he would not see me. He 
turned my campaigns, and my political institutions, into 
ridicule. This man, who, previous to my return from Egypt, 
had refused the offer of being placed in the first rank, now 
repented of his moderation. I saw that a grand sweep was 
necessary, and determined to join all these heads into a single 
hydra, that I might cut them off at a blow. The enterprise 
was not an easy one. I planned a conspiracy. Although 
Fouche was no longer Minister of Police, he continued to 
possess my full confidence. He alone could give the proper 
direction to every branch of my vast plan. Founding our 
measures on the precise intelligence which Andreossy had 
collected respecting the coteries of London, we set on foot the 
assassination of the First Consul. Moreau was indignant at 
my insulting haughtiness. Pichegru could not forgive me the 



211 

e mal 
raged there in the beginning of 1805, and from 



was at Cadiz during the malignant contagion which 



arbitrary prolongation of his unwarrantable exile. The known 
rashness of Georges gave grounds to believe in the possibility 
of his attempting my life. The devotion of the Duke D'Eng- 
hien to the honor of his illustrious family, determined him to 
come to the right bank of the Rhine. The minutest details 
were communicated to me with a degree of precision that 
thunderstruck even myself. Every proposition of my agents 
was accepted with an eagerness that can be accounted for only 
by the hatred of the conspirators, by their desire to restore the 
Bourbons, and by the dexterity of my spies. My confident, 
General Savary, took care to be on the coast, near Fecamp, 
with six gens d'armes, at the moment when Pichegru and his 
band were disembarking. They followed them every stage of 
their progress. They might have arrested them the very day 
of their arrival in France, but it was necessary to draw in 
Moreau by making him communicate with the conspirators. 
As soon as this important point was gained, the alarm w T as 
sounded; all Paris was on foot. The most distinguished 
functionaries, although very well known, were frequently 
arrested by the gens d'armes, and conducted before competent 
authorities, in order to be confronted with the descriptions of 
the principal conspirators. This farce lasted several days. 
Meanwhile Caulincourt and Ordener were on their way to 
arrest the Duke D'Enghien, who, instead of entering France in 
triumph, as he had been flattered, was led prisoner to the castle 
of Vincennes. It would have been very easy to have given 
it out that he had killed himself, but that would not have 
satisfied my ambition. I had him conducted before a council 
of war, the President of which, Hullin, had received his instruc- 
tions from me. The forms prescribed by the law were observ- 



212 

thence to America. On his arrival in America, 
General Morean made a tour along the banks of 
the Ohio and the Missisippi. He visited the asto- 
nishing falls of Niagara, and surveyed every other 
natural wonder with which that extraordinary coun- 
try is ornamented. In this excursion, General 
Moreau had an opportunity of observing the man- 
ners of the Americans : their internal policy and 
national resources. He clearly comprehended the 
strength and ability of the states, and in all his 
views of the Americans as a rising people, he inva- 
riably spoke with judgment, and predicted with 
truth. 

After his tour, General Moreau, having been 
joined by his wife and child, purchased a house 
called Morrisville, below the fall of the Delaware; 
and there, with the wreck of his once large fortune, 
had the happiness to find in the enjoyment of a few 
Mends, whose taste and sentiments were conge- 
nial with his own, a portion of tranquillity, which 
banished in some degree the remembrance of what 
he had lost in Europe. 

By the Code Napoleon, the expense of the trial 
falls on the person accused. And the govern- 
ed ; lie was condemned to death, although he was innocent, 
since he had been arrested on neutral ground, and was shot 
in the moat of the castle of Vincennes, where he was buried. 



21 



CI 



ment have the choice amongst all the individuals 
implicated in the same accusation. It fell of course 
on General Moreau; and Madame Hulot, his 
mother-in-law, who had undertaken to send him 
the produce of his property to America, was obliged 
to pay out of it the whole expense of the trial of Pi- 
chegru, Georges, and their friends. 

It is observed in a work intitled " the 1 Secret 
History of the Cabinet of Buonaparte," that at the 
conclusion of each day's sitting on the trial of 
General Moreau, the prisoners were conducted to 
their prisons between two files of soldiers; and 
that as General Moreau passed, the soldiers 
grounded their arms, and some whispered in his 
ear, " Mon General voidez vous de nous?" General 
do you want us? " Non" was the answer, " Je 
n y aime fas le sang" " No, I do not love blood." 
Had he but given the word, it was generally believ- 
ed that Buonaparte would have been a prisoner in 
the temple in less than six hours. 

Although retired from public scenes and public 

1 By Lewis Goldsmith, a person, who from "a residence at 
Paris as conductor of an English newspaper called the Argus, 
had certainly opportunities of receiving information upon 
many of the secret acts of Buonaparte: but who from his 
warmth has perhaps injured more than benefited the cause in 
which he has since written. 



214 

men, General Moreau was not to be forgotten; 
and when the oppressed Continental States rose to 
throw off their chains of slavery and misery, to 
compel Buonaparte to confine himself to the an- 
cient boundaries of France, and to restore to their 
rightful owners the territories he had possessed him- 
self of : when the revolutionary springs 1 of France 
appeared to be worn out, the counsels and the mili- 
tary skill of General Moreau were regarded by the 
Sovereigns of Europe, as essentially necessary to the 
completion of their just and honorable designs. 



1 In conversation with his friends in America. General 
Moreau constantly not only denied any previous knowledge 
of the enterprise of Georges, &c. but even condemned the plan 
itself. He observed " that to effect any change in France, 
the people should wait till men and revolutionary springs 
were worn out." The following was also an observation of 
General Moreau : L'arbre de la liberte est fletrie, et il ne 
reste rien que l'ecorse ( le Corse. J 






215 



COLONEL Rappatel, the Aide de Camp of 
General Moreau, who had shared in many of his 
most brilliant victories, and who did not abandon 
his General in the hour of misfortune, passed 
through this country about a year since in his 
way to Russia, whither he had been tempted to go 
in consequence of overtures from the Court of 
St. Petersburg, by their minister at Philadelphia, 
Mr. Dashkoff, to General Moreau, offering him 
a command, and requesting his aid in the general 
deliverance of Europe. He was there received 
with those distinctions which were due to the 
friend and fellow soldier of Moreau, and was in a 
short time appointed to an important command 
in the Russian army. 1 From the representations 
made by that officer, General Moreau was induced 
about the end of May, 1813, to quit his retirement 
at Philadelphia, in order to reassume that situa- 
tion he was so admirably qualified to fill. He 
accordingly retired from those scenes where he 
had passed some years, universally beloved, and 

1 The successful issue of this gentleman's endeavours to 
persuade General Moreau to embark in the contest, procured 
for him the warmest acknowledgements from the Emperor 
Alexander. 



216 

in the enjoyment of that respect, which is due to 
a life well spent, and embarked in the Hannibal for 
Europe, again to plunge into that tempestuous 
ocean, where all his brightest hopes had once been 
shipwrecked. 

The Americans repeatedly offered General Mo- 
reau the command of their armies, and the agents of 
Buonaparte were continally employed to induce him 
to the adoption of some step that might deprive him 
of his well earned popularity ; and they even flatter- 
ed themselves with inducing him to become ruler of 
North Ameriea : but those, and every other attempt, 
were foiled by the nobleness which constantly ani- 
mated General Moreau, and which, throughout his 
tempestuous career, drew respect from such of his 
enemies as enjoyed any liberality of feeling. 



217 



WHEN the Russian Minister found that General 
Moreau acceded to the wishes of the Emperor 
Alexander, he applied to the British Admiral 
Cockburn, for a licence for an American ship to 
go to Europe with a passenger, and on the 2^st of 
June, General Moreau embarked at Hell Gate, oa 
board the Hannibal, 500 tons burthen, and sailed 
from America. He landed at Gottenburg the 26th 
July, and on the 4th August he again embarked at 
Ystadt in a Swedish Brig of War for Stralsund. 
The Crown Prince of Sweden, then at Berlin, set 
off to give his early friend a meeting, and to con- 
cert with him a plan of military operations for the 
ensuing campaign. Tt was determined to organize 
a separate corps d'armee, to be principally com- 
posed of French prisoners, and called Moreau's 
legion. This body was to be decorated with the 
white or national cockade, to bear the motto ''pro 
j)atvia" to fight for the deliverance of Europe, and 
in particular for the emancipation of Frenchmen. 
A part of the plan agreed upon was, that General 
Willot, who was expected in England from Ame- 
rica, together with General Kewbel, (the Com- 
mander in Chief of the Westphalian army, at the 
time of the escape of the Duke of Brunswick, and 

2 E 



218 

who was disgraced by Buonaparte on account of 
that event,) were to organize such of the French 
prisoners as they could raise in this country, and 
to have disembarked with them in the north of 
France. 

After a passage of two days, General Moreau 
arrived at Stralsund : his reception there was pro- 
portionate to his rank as a General in Chief, to 
his misfortunes, and his renown. He pursued his 
journey, and on the 10th of August reached Berlin, 
accompanied by Colonel Rappatel, and Mr. Svi- 
nine, a gentleman in the civil department of the 
Russian government, and now in this country. 
General Moreau was greeted by the populace with 
the most rapturous welcome. They assembled in 
front of his apartments with joyful acclamations, 
and in the evening he was serenaded. 

On the morning of the 11th General Moreau 
visited all the Princes and Generals then resident 
at Berlin : those distinguished personages imme- 
diately returned his visits ; and in the evening of 
the same day he set out from Berlin, accompanied 
by the gentlemen above mentioned, to join the Em- 
peror of Russia and King of Prussia, at their head- 
quarters. 



219 

At eight o'clock in the evening of the 16th Au- 
gust, General Moreau arrived at Prague. 

The Counselior of Legation, Colonel Rappatel, 
was immediately sent to the Emperor and King, to 
acquaint them of the same. These personages, con- 
ceiving General Moreau to be extremely fatigued 
from his journey, deferred seeing him till the fol- 
lowing morning : but before the General was dres- 
sed, the Emperor rushed into his apartment, and 
embraced him. 1 

The King of Prussia soon after arrived, and as- 
sured the General of his high satisfaction in finding 
that tbey should have his able assistance : the 
Emperor desired that he would draw on his trea- 



1 In a small phamphlet published by Mr. Svinine, whose name 
I have already had occasion to mention, it is observed, " that 
on quitting his Majesty, General Moreau came to him, Mr. 
Svinine, and said in a soft voice, 4 Ah! my dear S — what a man 
is the Emperor! from this moment I have contracted the sweet 
and sacred obligation of sacrificing my life for him. There is 
no one who would not die to serve him. How much are all 
the flattering reports which I have heard relative to him, how 
much are all the prepossessions I had entertained in favor of 
him, beneath that angel of goodness." I have given this note, 
as Mr. Svinine states the General to have made the observation; 
but I must at the same time observe, that it is very different 
from that bold, animated, and nervous language, in which Ge- 
eral Moreau has delivered himself on every other occasion. 



220 

gury for every demand that he should require, but 
which noble offer the General with equal nobleness 
declined : representing that he brought with him 
sufficient funds for the present campaign, and which 
he hoped would be the last. Two days afterwards, 
the 18th August, the Emperor of Russia presented 
General Moreau to the Emperor of Austria, by 
whom he was received in a manner flattering to his 
feelings, and worthy of his character. * 



1 On joining the Allied Armies, General Moreau, is said to 
have issued the annexed proclamation, dated Groswitsch, Head- 
quarters, Aug. 17, 1813. 



" The sanguinary struggle for our independence is resumed— 
all the efforts of our illustrious Ally, his Majesty the Emperor 
of Austria, and our own, to obtain a desirable peace, without 
any further bloodshed, have proved fruitless. The design was 
that we should have groaned under the ignominious yoke for a 
long time to come. 

" To arms, therefore, ye valiant Russians, Prussians, and 
Germans ! Our power is formidable, as it possesses both in- 
ternal energy and a large numerical force. His Imperial High- 
ness the Archduke Charles is Commander in Chief of the Im- 
perial Austrian Army, who have made common cause with 
ours. Courage in battle, united with perseverance, must in- 
fallibly prevail. 

" In the name of his Majesty the King of Prussia, as General 
in Chief of the Allied Army, the Russian Major Gen- 
eral, and Chief of the Etat Major, 

(Signed) . « Moreau." 



221 

The eventful years that had passed since the 
departure of General Moreau from the land of his 
nativity, the success of his Imperial rival, and the 
changes effected in the politics of Europe, were 
alike unable to obliterate from the minds of men 
the services or the just renown of General Moreau. 
His reputation was permanent, because it was 
founded on the qualities of the heart ; and his mili- 
tary character was unimpaired, because it was solid. 
His health was drank at Dresden by the Officers 
in the service of Napoleon ; and but for the inter- 
ference of General Berthier, they would have paid 
for their enthusiasm by their lives. Two Officers in 
the service of Buonaparte deserted to General 
Moreau from Dantzig ; and had he been spared 
to his country, there is no doubt that he would have, 
been joined by many valuable French Officers. 1 

Mr. Paul Svinine in his pamphlet denies the authenticity of 
this statement, on the ground that, at its date, General Mo- 
reau was at Prague, and " that he had caused the Emperor 
Alexander to agree that he should have no title near his per- 
son, seeing that having no other ambition than to restore repose 
to France, his sole wish, after arriving at the accomplishment 
of this grand end, was quietly to terminate his days there, in 
in the bosom of his family. His Majesty then said to him. 
4 Well, be then my friend, my counsel.'" 

1 It has been observed, that in addition to the intire confi- 
dence of all the legitimate sovereigns in Europe, which Gene- 
ral Moreau enjoyed at the time of his fate, Louis XVI JL 



222 

The battle of Dresden, and the plan of the cam- 
paign were arranged and advised by General Mo- 
reau — they are no doubt some of the grandest ideas 
that he had ever projected. General Moreau, was in 
earnest conversation with the Emperor Alexander in 
the midst of the battle, and in the act of giving his 
opinion on some military movements, while passing 
with the Emperor behind a Prussian battery, to 
which two French batteries were answering, one in 
front, and the other in flank, and the British 
Minister, Lord Cathcart, and Major General Sir 
Robert Wilson were listening to him, when a ball 
struck his thigh, and almost carried his leg off, 
passed through his horse, and carried away the calf 
of his other leg. 1 He uttered a deep groan, but 

had given him unlimited powers with respect to France, pledg- 
ing his word that he would take no measures either of inter- 
nal or external police, without consulting him. On hearing of 
his death, that Prince exclaimed, " I have lost my crown a 
second time — (J'ai perdu ma couronne une seconde fois.) At 
the suggestion of the Prince of Conde, he intended to give 
General Moreau the rank of Constable of France, the highest 
situation under the old monarchy, and the French blue ribband. 

1 The following are Lieut. General Sir Charles Stewart's, 
his Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten- 
tiary to the King of Prussia, accounts of the operations at, and 
in the vicinity of Dresden, and the fall of General Moreau. 
As this work is intended to embrace every circumstance rela- 
ting to General Moreau, the introduction of these documents 
I conceive necessary. 



223 

immediately after the first agony of pain was over^ 

" Head-quarters of His Majesty the King of Prussia. 
Zehista, Aug. 27, 1813. 
" Mt Lord, — My last dispatches will have acquainted your 
Lordship of the determination of the Allied Armies to debouche 
from Bohemia, by the several passes into Saxony, and enter on 
immediate offensive operations in flank and rear of the enemy, 
if he still maintained his forward positions in Lusatia, and re- 
mained on the right bank of the Elbe. While the main Russian 
army under General Barclay de Tolly, including the corps of 
Witgenstein and Miloradovitch, and the Prussian corps of Ge- 
neral Kleist, together with the whole of the Austrian army, were 
to act offensively from Bohemia, under the chief command of 
Prince Schwartzenberg, General Blucher's corps d'armee, 
composed of a division of Prussians under Lieutenant General 
d'Yorck, and General Sachen's and General Langeron's Rus- 
sian divisions, were to move from Silesia on Lusatia, and 
threaten the enemy in front. General Blucher was to avoid 
engaging in any general action, especially against superior 
numbers. In conformity with these intentions, General Blu- 
cher advanced in three columns on the 20th from Leignitz, 
Goldberg, and Jauer, on Buntzlau and Lowenberg ; General 
Sachen's corps moved on the right on Buntzlau, and General 
d'Yorck's on the centre, and General Langeron's on the left. 
The enemy abandoned Buntzlau, destroyed their works, and 
blew up a magazine of powder there ; and General Blucher's 
forces advanced to the Bober, where they were attacked on the 
21st by the enemy, who moved in great force on Buntzlau, 
Lowenberg, and Laun, and a very serious affair took place. It 
is reported Buonaparte commanded in person, and that he pre- 
sented one hundred and ten thousand men to General Blucher. 
The Allied troops contested the ground with great bravery ; but 
as General Blucher had received orders to avoid a general 



224 

spoke with the utmost tranquillity, and perceiv- 

engagement, he withdrew in the best order to Haynau, Pil- 
gramsdorf, Hirshberg, and behind the Katzbach; where his 
troops were at the date of the last accounts. The loss of 
General Blucher in this affair is reported to be near two thou- 
sand men ; he took, however, several prisoners. The enemy 
suffered considerably. 

" The grand armies on the side of Bohemia commenced pass- 
ing the frontiers on the 20th and 21st ; Count Witgenstein*s 
and General Kleist's columns, by the passes of Peterswalde ; 
the Austrians by Komotaw. On the 22nd, Count Witgen- 
stein's corps fell in with the enemy, and lad a very consider- 
able encounter with them near Berghishabel and Zehista. 

" The enemy met the Allies on the frontiers, and have been 
beaten back from all their positions, towards Dresden, although 
they endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to defend every inch of 
ground. 

" The different columns of the allied armies were to debouche 
from the mountains and passes, at such concerted periods as 
would probably have operated fatally upon the enemy, if the 
arrangement, as planned, had been completely carried into 
effect ; but the eagerness of the troops to push on and engage, 
brought the right corps into action on the morning of the 22nd. 
The French were commanded by General Gouvion St. Cyr ? 
(who is newly arrived, and come up with the army from Wurtz- 
burg,) and their force consisted of upwards of 15,000 men : 
they were supported by their troops from Konigsteio, and by 
those in the camp at Liebenstein, which amounted at least to 
6,000 men, under General Bonnet. After a very sharp action. 
Count Witgenstein drove the enemy from all points, took three 



225 

ing the officers around him in the greatest distress, 

or four hundred prisoners, besides a vast number of killed and 
wounded. The loss of the Allies was not severe. 

" The enemy after this action retired into Konigstein, his 
entrenched camp atLiebenstein, and also into the various works 
he has thrown up round Dresden. The Allies have pressed 
forward on him on every side, and the Grand Armies are now 
encircling Dresden. 

" On the £6th, the Hussar regiment of Grodno, of Count 
Witgenstein's corps, had a very brisk engagement, close to 
Dresden, in which they took four guns and one howitzer. The 
advanced guards of the Russians, Prussians, and Austrians, 
encamped this night on the heights above Dresden, between 
Nauslitz and Ischernitz. 

" On the 27th in the morning, the enemy abandoned the 
ground in advance of Dresden which they occupied, called the 
Grossen Garten, and withdrew into the suburbs and their 
different works. 

" I have thus given your Lordship a general outline of ope- 
rations up to this period ; every hour is big with events. No 
official reports are made out, so I fear my details in many 
points may be imperfect. Perhaps the history of war does not 
afford a period where two great armies stand committed to such 
bold operations. 

" I have much pleasure in reporting to your Lordship, that 
two Westphalian regiments of Hussars, commanded by Colo- 
nel Hammerstein, have come over from the enemy, and are 

2F 



226 

he observed, " Soyez tranquilles, messieurs, c'est 

most eager to be ranged in battle against them, to take their 
revenge for the misery they have entailed upon this country. 
I have the honor to be, &c. 
CHARLES STEWART, Lieut. General." 

"Head-quarters of his Imperial Majesty the 
Emperor of Russia, Altenberg, Aug. 29th, 1813. 
" My Lord, — The enemy having abandoned the ground sur- 
rounding Dresden, called Grossen Garten, and having with- 
drawn into their works, and into the suburbs of the town on 
the morning of the 27th, it was deemed expedient to make an 
attack with a large force upon the place, the possession of 
which became of considerable importance. Count Witgenstein's 
and General Kleist's light troops, on the right of the town, 
had sustained during the morning of the 27th, in the attack of 
the Gardens, some loss ; and indeed the enemy had so much 
improved by art the defences around the town, that it was 
evidently an enterprise of considerable difficulty to carry it. 

" The troops moved to the assault at four o'clock in the 
evening : Count Witgenstein's corps, in three columns on the 
right of Grossen Garten : General Kleist moved one column 
of attack through these Gardens, and two on the left. His left 
column was headed by Prince Augustus of Prussia : three 
divisions of Austrians on the left of the town, under the imme- 
diate direction of Count Colloredo, and Prince Maurice of 
Lichtenstein, joined the Prussians on their left; the Prussians 
forming the centre attack. A tremendous cannonade com- 
menced the operation : the batteries being planted in a circular 
form around the town, the effect was magnificent: the fine 
buildings in Dresden were soon enveloped in smoke, and the 



227 

mon sort .•" and leaning on Colonel Rappatel, who 

troops moved forward in the most perfect order to the assault. 
They approached on all sides close to the town. The Austrians 
took an advanced redoubt with eight guns, in the most un- 
daunted and gallant manner ; I never saw troops behave more 
conspicuously : the work was of the strongest kind, not above 
sixty yards from the main wall, and it was flanked by cross- 
fires of musketry from the various loop-holes that were made 
in every part from projecting buildings : but nothing could 
surpass the gallantry with which it was stormed; the enemy 
fled from it only to shelter themselves behind new defences, 
manning the thick walls of the town, in which it was impossi- 
ble, without a long and continued fire of heavy artillery, to 
make breaches. 

" The enemy, with the aid of those means which a strong 
town affords of resistance, held the troops in check who had so 
gallantly carried, and entered the out-works. The night was 
fast approaching, and the enemy now attempted to make a 
sortie with a considerable force of all his guards, at least 
amounting to thirty thousand, to separate the Allied troops, 
and to take one wing in flank and rear. This was immediately 
perceived, and as it appeared evident that it was not practica- 
ble to carry the place that night, orders were sent to draw off 
the troops, and they returned to their several encampments. 
Prince Maurice of Lichtenstein made an admirable disposition 
on the side where the enemy made their sortie, by which all 
disorder was avoided. This enterprise, in proportion to its 
being of moment, was one of great difficulty ; no troops could 
signalize themselves more, and in nfy humble opinion if it had 
been physically possible to carry the place under the circum- 
stances they would have accomplished it ; but there were n» 



228 
supported him in his arms, he observed, " though I 

breaches for the troops to enter, and the artillery although 
brought up at the close of the evening to near one hundred paces 
of the wall? were not able to batter it, or make an impression. 

« From the best calculation I can make, I should estimate 
the loss of the Allies at under 4000 men in this attack. The 
Austrians chiefly suffered. 

" The sortie of the enemy was a prelude to a more general 
battle, which took place on the following morning, the 28th. 
Buonaparte had arrived in Dresden, from that part of his army 
in Lusatia, on the night of the 22d ; and having a very large 
force in Dresden, at least 130,000 men, he appears to have 
determined on attacking the Allies, who occupied a very 
extended position on the heights surrounding it. 

" The enemy had great advantages i n their disposition for 
attack: Dresden, lined with guns, was in their rear; their 
communications were not intersected ; if they made an im- 
pression, they could pursue it; if they failed, they could with- 
draw in security, and our troops could not follow them under 
the guns of the place. One of the worst days that ever was 
seen added materially to the difficulties of the Allies, who had 
arrived, by rapid marches, through bad roads and defiles, at 
their positions ; and whose supplies of every kind, it was diffi- 
cult, if not impossible, to get up. Availing himself of the 
disadvantages above stated, Buonaparte displayed an immense 
number of pieces of artillery ; and heavy cannonading on both 
sides formed the chief feature of the battle. Charges in vari- 
ous points were made, with the Russian, Prussian, and 
Austrian cavalry, and they distinguished themselves highly : 



229 

am lost, to die in so good a cause, and in the presence 
of the Emperor Alexander, is sweet." 

but the main bodies of the infantry, in both armies, did not 
come in contact. The weather being so hazy, and the rain so 
incessant, that the action was sustained, at all points, under 
the heaviest disadvantages. 

" Towards the middle of the day a catastrophe occurred which 
awakened more than ordinary sensibility and regret through- 
out of the Allied army. General Moreau, in earnest conversa- 
tion with the Emperor of Russia on the operations, had both 
his legs carried off by a cannon shot, the ball going through 
his horse: an equal loss both to the good cause, and to the 
profession of arms. It is impossible not deeply to lament his 
fate. He is still alive. 

" The enemy continued his efforts on the position of the 
Allies, till finding he could make no impression, the action 
ceased. 



" The battle may have cost us six or seven thousand men. 
The enemy must have suffered more. In one charge of 
Russian cavalry against infantry and a battery, a great num- 
ber of prisoners were taken, though the guns were not brought 
off. 

" I have already detailed to your Lordship the general diffi- 
culties in which the Allied army was placed by the large force 
opposed to them, and by the opinion that Buonaparte would 
pass a considerable body of troops across the Elbe at Konig- 
stein and Pirna to possess himself of the passes in our rear. 
The orders for retiring, to the Allied Army, were issued on the 



230 

The horror and consternation that followed 



evening of the 28th, and the army is now in march in different 
columns. 

" It is impossible not to lament that so fine and so numerous 
an army, perfectly entire in all its parts, should be under the 
necessity, having once advanced, of making a retrograde step, 
as miscalculations may be made on the event, and the enemy 
may suppose he has gained an advantage. I can only pledge 
myself to your Lordship, that the army is as eager as ever to 
meet the enemy, and the same determined spirit exists, 
hough a partial change of operations may be deemed neces- 
sary. 

" The enemy's force was not diminished on the side of Lusa- 
tiaup to the 23rd, for his efforts on the Elbe: as be attacked 
General Blucher again in great force on that day, who retired 
upon Jauer. On the 24th, however, he advanced again, the 
enemy having fallen back, which would indicate his bringing 
more forces into Bohemia. 

" The Austrian corps of General Neuberg has also advanced 
in the direction of Zittau. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 
(Signed) CHARLES STEWART, Lieut. Gen.' 7 



« Toplitz, Aug. 30, 1813. 
« My Lord, — Since my dispatch of yesterday's date, I have 
to acquaint your Lordship, that a very brilliant action has ta- 
ken place this day on the road from Toplitz, towards Peters wal- 
de, about two German miles from the former place. It appears 



231 

this catastrophe are indescribable, but General 

that the Russian column under Count Ostermann, which was 
to retire by the pass of Osterwalde, fount! the enemy, who had 
actually crossed the Elbe at Pima and Konigstein, had posses- 
sion of the pass in the mountains, and they were obliged most 
gallantly to force their way through with the bayonet. They 
then remained in action with the enemy till late in the evening; 
and having been reinforced by the reserves of the Russian 
guards, cavalry and infantry, the former under his Imperial 
Highness the Grand Duke Constantine, who were sent rapidly 
to their support, this body of troops, consisting of about 
8000 men, held in check, during the day, two corps and one 
division of the French army, under Generals Vandamme and 
Bertrand, amounting at least to 30,000 men. I should do his 
Imperial Majesty's Guards injustice if I attempted to describe 
the admiration I felt at their valor and signal bravery. The 
light cavalry of the guard, consisting of the Polonese and dra- 
goon regiments, charged columns of infantry in the highest 
. style. General Diebzetsch, an officer of great merit, parti- 
cularly distinguished himself; Prince Galitzin in like manner. 
He was wounded in the attack. Count Ostermann, towards 
the close of the day, had his arm carried off by a cannon shot; 
the General commanding the Cuirassiers of St. George was also 
wounded. 

" The importance of the bravery displayed by these troops 
is highly augmented, when it is considered, that had they not 
held their ground, the columns of the army and artillery retir- 
ing by Altenberg, which were delayed by the bad roads, must 
have been greatly endangered. 

" His Prussian Majesty was at Toplitz when the enemy made 
their rapid advance by Peterswalde, and made the most able 



232 

Moreau, after receiving his wound, never deviated 

dispositions to reinforce Count Ostermann, and by his coolness 
and personal exertions, preserved order and regularity, which 
even the momentary idea of the enemy's getting in the rear is 
apt to endanger. The admirable conduct of this Sovereign on 
all occasions is the theme of universal praise. The corps of 
Count Ostermann lost three thousand men in this day's action 
hors de combat. 

" The French loss may be averaged at double. General Van- 
damme's corps suffered immensely. The cavalry of the Rus- 
sian guard took two standards, and three or four hundred pri- 
soners. 

" The enemy followed our rear-guard, during the day, on the 
Dippoldswald road, and they met with a considerable check 
from the rear-guard, commanded by the Austrian General 
Hard egg. 

" I hope your Lordship will excuse the hurry with which this 
is written, and will make allowances, as the period and con- 
tinued movements and operations prevent much accuracy. 
I have the honor to be, &c. 
(Signed) CHARLES STEWART, Lieut. Gen." 



« My Lord, Toplitz, August 31, 1813. 

" The brilliant and well-contested action of the 30th ultimo, 
in which the Prussian guards covered themselves with glory, 
has been followed up by a very general and decisive victory 
over that part of the enemy's army, which had advanced from 
Konigstein and Pirna, on the great chaussee, leading from 



233 

from the calm and even temper, which so pecu- 



Peterswalde to Toplitz. It became of the utmost importance 
to make this attack, not only to give time for those columns 
of the army to fall back, which were still retiring upon the 
Altenberg and Dippoldswalde road, but at the same time to 
extricate the corps under General Kleist, which had not dis- 
engaged itself from the mountains. 

" The enemy had the advantage, in pushing rapidly forward 
upon our right flank, of a good line of road ; whereas the 
columns of the Allied army, although retiring by shorter lines, 
were impeded, not only by the unfavorable state of the weather, 
but by almost impassible roads. 

" A great proportion of the artillery train and baggage of the 
Allied army had not yet got clear of the mountains, when the 
enemy had arrived at Hollendorf and Kulm, about three 
German miles distant from Toplitz, the scene where the action 
took place. 

" The attack being determined upon, the following disposition 
of the troops, destined for that purpose, was immediately made. 
Six thousand Russian grenadiers, two thousand infantry, and 
four thousand cavalry, under the immediate orders of General 
Miloradovitch, together with twelve thousand Austiians, under 
Count Coloredo and General Bianchi, commenced the action; 
the remainder of the troops collected for this enterprise being 
formed in columns of reserve upon the adjacent plain. 

" The village of Kulm is situated at the bottom of a range of 
mountains, which forms an almost impregnable barrier between 
Saxony and Bohemia; from this point branch off two dis- 
tinct ranges of mountain, east and west; between these ranges 

2G 



234 

Marly characterised him: and indeed throughout 

the ground is generally flat, affording, however, in some places, 
good defensible positions. Upon this ground, immediately 
fronting the village of Kulm, the enemy collected a strong force 
of infantry, with a great portion of artillery; a galling fire 
was kept up incessantly from this point upon the Russians, 
under General Miloradovitch. 

" Such was the strength of the adjacent heights of Kulm, and 
so ably had the enemy disposed of their force for its defence, 
that it was judged more expedient to make the principal attack 
by the right, in consequence of which the Austrian infantry 
were directed to move along the high ground upon the right, 
while the Russian guards and infantry were to commence their 
attack upon the left, so soon as the Austrians were sufficiently 
advanced. While these movements were executing, the corps 
of General Kleist, which had not been disengaged from the 
mountains, appeared in the enemy's rear, descending the road 
by which the enemy were to retire in case of need. On all 
sides the attack commenced in the most vigorous and decisive 
manner. The enemy's left were turned by the distinguished 
bravery and good conduct of the Austrians under Count Colo- 
redo, the cavalry charging repeatedly; while upon the other 
flank General Miloradovitch, with the hussars of the guards 
and grenadiers, forced every point which the enemy in vain 
attempted to defend. Upon this point above forty pieces of 
artillery and sixty tumbrils, much baggage, and the whole 
equipage of General Vandamme, fell into the hands of the 
Russians. Completely beaten in front at all points, and inter- 
cepted in their rear by General Kleist, nothing was left for the 
enemy but a desperate and precipitate retreat. 



235 

the whole of his sufferings, he bore his fate with 



" The rout now became general, the enemy throwing down 
their arms in every direction, and ceasing even to resist, aban- 
doning guns and standards, to seek for shelter in the woods. 

" The fruits of this victory are considerable. The General 
commanding, Vandamme, six other General Officers, of whom 
are Generals Giott, Hochtox, Himberg, and Prince Reuss; 
sixty pieces of artillery, and about ten thousand prisoners, with 
six standards. 

" The whole of General Vandamme' s staff, and many officers 
of rank, are also among the prisoners. 

" The enemy continue their retreat, closely pursued by the 
Cossacks and Allied cavalry. 

" Having received a severe contusion by the explosion of a 
shell shortly after the commencement of the action, I was 
under the necessity of quitting the field of battle, and am, there- 
fore , indebted for the latter details which I have given your 
Lordship, to Colonel Cooke, Aide-de-Camp to his Royal High- 
ness the Commander-in-Chief, who upon this, as upon every 
other occasion, since he has been attached to me, has afforded 
me great assistance. 



" I have now the pleasing task of calling your Lordship's 
attention to another most brilliant contest, which has termi- 
nated highly to the honor and advantage of the Allied army. 

" It would appear that upon the 25th, Marshal Macdonald 
had occupied a very strong position in the neighbourhood of 



236 

heroism and grandeur of mind not to be surpassed, 
and appeared, to those with whom he conversed, from 
his extreme composure and calmness, to endure but 
little pain. 

He was conveyed from the field on a litter made 
of Cossacks pikes, to a cottage at a short distance, 
which, however, was so much exposed to the fire, 
that they were obliged, after just binding up his 



Jauer in Silesia, which he had strengthened with a numerous 
and formidable artillery. He was, however, attacked by Gene- 
ral Blucher upon the morning of the 26th, and after a very- 
sharp contest, driven from every part of his position, leaving 
upon the ground fifty pieces of artillery, thirty-nine tumbrils 
and ammunition wagons, with a number of prisoners, exceed- 
ing ten thousand men. 

" The contest was renewed with fresh vigor, and with equal 
success on the part of General Blucher, the whole of the 27th 
and 28th, of which the result appears to be, that thirty pieces 
of cannon, and five thousand more prisoners, have been taken 
during the last two days. 

" According to the latest intelligence, General Blucher con- 
tinued the pursuit with the utmost celerity. 

" General Prince Reuss, whom I named to your Lordship as 
among the prisoners taken in the very brilliant affair of yester- 
day, is dead of his wounds. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 
CHARLES STEWART, Lieut-Gen." 



237 

wounds, to remove him to Noethlitz, where he suf- 
fered amputation below both his knees. When the 
first surgical operation was completed, and he 
understood it would be necessary to amputate the 
other limb, he declared had he been previously 
so informed, he would have preferred dying. He 
however underwent the whole without complaining, 
exhibiting a deportment and countenance firm and 
undismayed. He afterwards partook of some re- 
freshment. 

About seven o'clock in the evening of the ampu- 
tation, he was placed in a litter formed of the body 
of a coach, and carried by Russian soldiers to 
Passendorff. He complained of extreme pain; he 
rested at the country house of Mr. Tritschen, 
Grand Master of forests, and there again partook of 
refreshment. On the 28th, at four in the morn- 
ing, he was removed in the same manner from, 
Passendorff to Dippoldswalden, and there rested in 
the house of a baker named Wutz, where he took 
some further refreshment. An hour after he was 
removed to the frontiers of Bohemia, being borne 
the whole of his painful journey by Russian sol- 
diers. 

In the course of this melancholy route, the un- 
fortunate General Moreau was drenched with rain ? 
which fell in torrents — with no other covering except 



238 

what a few blankets afforded, which were insufficient 
to defend him from the inclemency of the weather, 
this truly great character sustained himself with un- 
shaken fortitude, and never in all his bodily anguish 
forgot the beloved country in whose sacred cause he 
had spilled his vital blood. 

On the 3rd day after his wound General Moreau 
addressed the following letter 1 to Madame Mo- 
reau. 

H Ma chere Amie— A la JBataille de Dresde, il 
y a trois jours, j'ai eu les deux jambes emportees 
d'un boulet de canon— Ce coquin de Buonaparte 
esttoujours heureux. 

" On m ? a fait Pamputation aussi bien que possible. 
Quoique Parmee ait fait un mouvement retrograde, 
ce n'est nullement par revers mais par decousu, et 
se rapprocher du General Blucher. 

"Excusez mon griffonnage. Je t'aime et t'em- 
brasse de tout mon coeur. 

" Je charge Rappatel de finir. V. M. ?? 

* A most correct fac simile of this highly interesting letter 
accompanies this work. 






239 

"Madame, — Le General me permets de vous 
ecrire sur la meme feuille ou il vous a trace quel- 
ques lignes. Jugez de mon chagrin et de ma 
douleur par ce qu'il vient de vous dire. 

" Depuis le moment ou il a ete blesse je ne l'ai 
pas quitte, et ne le quitterai pas jusqu'a sa parfaite 
guerison. Nous avons la plus grande esperance : 
et moi qui le connois, je puis dire que nous le 
sauverons. II a supporte ^amputation avec un 
courage heroique, sans perdre connoissanee : le 
premier appareil a ete leve, et les plaies sont fort 
belles. II n'a eu qu'un leger acces de fievre lors- 
que la suppuration s'est etablie, et elle a diminu£ 
considerablement. 

"Vous devez me pardonner tous ces details; ils 
sont aussi douloureux pour moi a tracer qu'ils le 
seront pour vous a lire : j'ai eu besoin de courage 
depuis quatre jours, et en aurai besoin encore. 
Comptez sur mes soins, sur mon amiti6, et tous les 
sentimens que vous m ? avez inspires Fun 1'autre 
pour le servir : ne vous allarmez pas ; je ne puis 
votis dire d'etre courageuse; je connois votre 
coeur. 

" Je ne laisserai pas une occasion sans vous don- 
ner de ses nouvelles. Le Medecin vient de m'assurer 



240 

que si cela continue (Taller ainsi, dans cinq seinaines 
11 pourra aller en voiture. 

"Adieu, Madame, et respectable amie; je suis 
bien malheureux. J'embrasse la pauvre Isabelle. 
Le plus devoue de vos serviteurs, 

11APPATEL. 

Lann, 30 Aoust, 1813. 

ler Septembre — II vabien, et est tranquille." 



^TRANSLATION.) 

" My dear love, — At the battle of Dresden three days ago, 
I had both legs carried off by a cannon ball. 



" That scoundrel Buonaparte is always fortunate* 

" The amputation was performed as well as possible. 

" Though the army has made a retrograde movement, it is not 
at all the consequence of defeat, but from a want of ensemble, 
and in order to get nearer General Blucher. 

" Excuse my hasty writing. I love and embrace thee with 
my whole heart. 

* c I charge Rappatel to finish. V. M." 






241 

Every word in this interesting; letter is indicative 
of the firm spirit which was fleeting from its earthly 

" Madam. — The General permits me to write to you on the 
sa.ne sheet on which he has sent you a few lines. Judge of my 
grief and regret by what he has just told you. 

" From the moment he was wounded, I have not left him, nor 
will I leave him till he is perfectly cured. We have the great- 
est hopes 5 and I, who know him, am certain we shall save him. 
He supported the amputation with heroic courage without 
fainting. The first dressing has been taken off, and the wounds 
have a good appearance. He had only a slight access of 
fever when the suppuration took place, and it has considerably 
diminished. 

" Forgive these details ; they are as painful for me to give, as 
they will be for you to receive — I have stood in need of all my 
fortitude for the last four days, and shall still stand in need of 
of it. Rely upon my care, my friendship, and upon all the 
sentiments with which both of you have inspired me — Don't 
alarm yourself, I need not tell you to exert your courage. I 
know your heart. 

" I will neglect no opportunity to write to you — The Surgeon 
has just assured me, that if he continues to go on as well, he will 
be able in five weeks to go out in a carriage. 

" Madam, and respectable friend, farewell — I am miserable. 
Kiss poor Isabelle for me. 

Your most devoted servant, 

Lann, Aug. 30, 1813. RAPPATEL. 

Sept. 1. — He is going on well, and is easy." 

2 Hk 



mansion. Writing as he must have been under 
the influence of extreme pain, nothing personal was 
allowed to escape him — he seems forgetful of his 
bodily sufferings, while his soul is full of the cause 
which had led him to his death : and must remain a 
monument of his spirit to the admiration of posterity. 
It appears by the brevity of this celebrated letter, 
that his physical strength had been unequal to the 
task of proceeding, for it is not to be supposed that 
the moral powers of General Moreau could be sub- 
dued or even weakened. 

The situation of General Moreau becoming every 
liour more hopeless, his surgeons at length apprised 
him of the approach of that event which no human 
skill could avert. Without giving way to despon- 
dency, he commenced dictating the following letter to 
the Emperor Alexander, abounding with the most 
fervent expressions of gratitude and respect. 

" To His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Alex- 
ander. 

"Sire, — I go down to the grave with those sen- 
timents of admiration, respect, and devotedness, 
which your Imperial Majesty inspired me with from 
the first moment of our interview" 

General Moreau had written thus much of what 
he regarded his last duty to man, when his brave 



243 



spirit, at five minutes before seven in the morning of 
the 2nd of September, 1813, was released from all 
earthly suffering. 

A conference, which took place at Lann between 
him and some of the Generals on the affairs of the 
Allied Armies, and by which he was completely 
exhausted, accelerated his dissolution. He ob- 
served to the officers when he felt his strength fail 
him, and he could no longer continue the confer- 
ence, that he hoped to see them on the following- 
morning, when they could go into the points not 
discussed. 

It is certainly true that the sacred cause in which 
General Moreau had embarked, occupied his 
thoughts in the most awful and momentous periods 
which immediately preceded his death. The effect 
of this event upon the combined armies is described 
by the British Ministers and Generals in affecting 
and appropriate language, and the Emperor Alex- 
ander, with all the benignity and nobleness of his 
nature, addressed the following letter to the discon- 
solate widow of General Moreau. 

" Madame, — When the dreadful misfortune which 
befel General Moreau, close at my side, deprived 
me of the talents and experience of that great man, 
I indulged the hope, that, by care, we might still 



f 



244 

be able to preserve him to his family and to my 
friendship. Providence has ordered it otherwise. 
He died as he lived, in the full vigor of a strong and 
steady mind. There is but one remedy for the great 
miseries of life — that of seeing them participated. 
In Russia, Madam, you will find these sentiments 
every where: and if it suit you to fix your re- 
sidence there, I will do all in my power to embel- 
lish the existence of a personage of whom I make 
it my sacred duty to be the consoler and the 
support. 

" I intreat you, Madam, to rely upon it irrevocably, 
never to let me be in ignorance of any circumstance 
in which I can be of any use to you, and to write 
directly to me always. To anticipate your wishes 
will be a pleasure to me. The friendship I vowed 
to your husband exists beyond the grave, and I have 
no other means of showing it, at least in part, to- 
wards him, than by doing every thing in my power 
to insure the welfare of his family. 

" Tn these sad and cruel circumstances, accept, 
Madam, these marks of friendship, and the assur- 
ance of all my sentiments." 

" Alexander," 
"Toplitz, 6th September, 1813." 



I 



245 

His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, 
also issued the following orders relative to General 
Moreau. " That the body should be conveyed to 
Prague to be embalmed, and that from thence Colonel 
Ilappatel should convey it to St. Petersburg, and 
to have it buried with the same funeral honors as 
were observed to Prince Kutusoff Srnolenzk, in the 
Catholic church of that city." 

It now only remains to rescue from the asper- 
sions of Buonaparte the brave and virtuous character, 
whose career has been traced, who by his military 
operations, and more especially by his admirable 
and scientific retreat out of Germany, during the 
most disastrous period of the French Republic, has 
universally acquired more real reputation, than any 
of his coteraporaries, or perhaps any commander of 
ancient celebrity. 

Branded by the French government with the 
foul epithets of traitor and hypocrite, hireling and 
apostate, it is the duty of every well wisher to the 
cause in which he fell, to place his character in its 
true light. 

In early life General Moreau's conduct dis- 
played the feelings of a pure and upright patriot ; 
and his enemies will not deny his shining talents 



246 

as a soldier. Trained by, and under the able in- 
structions of, General Pichegru, General Moreau 
adopted the ancient mode of warfare. His cha- 
racter, as a military man, was the reverse of that of 
the other French Generals: there was less boldness 
and fire in his operations, but they betrayed more 
talent, method, and science ; and his morality, as 
well as his political character, has added a bright 
and lasting lustre to his military achievements, and 
acquired him the title, even among his enemies, of 
the Gallic Fabius. 

An anecdote of this celebrated character, 
commencing his military career, should not here 
pass unnoticed. When his battalion of National 
Guards was first reviewed, the Inspecting General 
Count de Thiars de Bissy, notwithstanding the 
jealousy which the troops of the line then entertained 
of the National Guards, could not help observing 
" that few colonels of the line with their old corps, 
could have afforded him the gratification of seeing 
jbo much regularity, discipline, and precision, as 
in the evolutions of Moreau's battalion of National 
Guards." " The Count de Thiars has done me much 
honor," said Moreau returning from the review, 
fti but I hope he will live long enough to see me 
command not only National Guards, but the army of 
the line." 



247 

Attached to his country, and beloved by his 
countrymen, he became obnoxious to Buonaparte ; 
and for the crime of patriotism, he was tried, im- 
prisoned and exiled. As a banished man, he owed 
no allegiance to his country, even had its government 
been legitimate. 

A sentiment not to be defined, but one which is 
perhaps as strong as any in the whole catalogue of 
human feelings, prevented him from sooner taking an 
active part in the grand aftairs of Europe. He could 
not draw his sword against his countrymen, whilst 
they successfully supported Buonaparte, but when 
the crisis was at hand, and the allied powers of 
Europe called for his presence and his talents, he 
quitted his retreat ; not because the voice of praise 
and adulation had penetrated to his seclusion ; not 
to court and receive a share of that popularity which 
rests upon the smiles of fortune, and may evaporate 
in the breath of a moment ; but to lend his services, 
and, if necessary, yield his life, for the deliverance 
of his country. 

The high sense of honor and nobleness of Ge- 
neral Moreau cannot be more fully evidenced than in 
the following anecdotes. 

Mr. D'Orsay, an emigrant, had forfeited all his 
property to the state, but had been allowed to return 
to Paris, and was, consequently, compelled to live 



248 

in the most penurious way, on the trifle he had 
saved, when he was one morning surprised by a visit 
from General Moreau, who, after expressing his 
compliments, observed, " I have bought an estate, 
Sir, which before the revolution was yours ; you 
know such property sells very low ; I have had 
it valued ; and must beg your permission to leave 
with you, as your just right, the difference between 
the price and the estimate :" and he laid down a 
sum of money sufficient to make the poor emigrant 
comfortable. 

When the Archduke Charles was on his way 
from Bohemia to take the command of his army, as 
he drew near the scene of action, he met a number 
of wounded abandoned by their comrades on the 
road, for want of horses to draw the carriages in 
their retreat. The prince immediately ordered the 
horses to be taken from several pieces of cannon that 
were already retreating, saying that these brave men 
were better worth saving than a few cannon. When 
General Moreau heard of this benevolent trait, he 
ordered the cannon to be restored, observing, that 
he would take no cannon that were abandoned from 
such humane motives. 

In 1796, a few days before hostilities were re- 
sumed on the banks of the Rhine, an Austrian officer 
wag sent to have a parley with General Moreau, 



249 

who did not conceal from him, that he was in- 
formed 30,000 men would be immediately sent from 
the Austrian army of Germany to that of Italy. 
The officer carried this intelligence to General 
Wurmser's head-quarters, where the order for the 
departure of the 30,000 men did not arrive till three 
days after. This fact is a proof that the French are 
as well served by their spies who are near the cabi- 
nets of Europe, as by those who are near the armies 
of their enemies. 

At the close of the year 1800, General Moreau 
had taken advantage of the temporary suspension of 
military operations to return to France, and mingle 
the hymeneal roses with his well earned laurels. 
The amiable woman he selected, and who has since 
proved herself so worthy of the heart and hand she 
possessed, was a native of the Isle of France, of 
the name of Hulot. Her family is respectable and 
opulent, but she has derived no advantage from the 
latter circumstance, on acconnt of the difficulties 
attending a process at law, in which their estates 
were involved. 

In the year 1802, when the ancient religion was 
established in France, a seat in the cathedral was 
not allotted to Madame Moreau; while the most 
distant relatives of Buonaparte were seated in the 
most conspicuous place, above all the constituted 

21 



250 

authorities of France. Urged by curiosity to be- 
hold a spectacle so splendid and gratifying to the 
Christian world, Madame Moreau endeavoured to 
obtain entrance into the cathedral, in the midst of 
undistinguished numbers. Whilst pressing for- 
ward in the crowd, she received from the musket 
of a soldier a blow, which nearly deprived her of 
life. 

This savage atrocity, perpetrated on the person 
of a female, who was the wife of a general equal in 
renown to the reigning idol, and infinitely his su- 
perior in point of moral worth, created a deep 
sensation at Paris ; nor indeed could it fail to make 
an impression on every feeling or reflecting mind : 
but the pageantry of the day effaced all minor events 
from the recollection of that versatile people : and 
the wretch, execrable as the monster who struck 
to the earth Agrippina, the grand daughter of Au- 
gustus, and the widow of Germanicus, remained 
unpunished. 

During the imprisonment and trial of her hus- 
band, Madame Moreau was suffered to be at large, 
and she had the intrepidity to address letters 1 of 



1 Madame Moreau having lost all her papers in a fire which 
took place and burnt down her house of Morrisville in Ame- 
rica, the author is prevented from presenting correct copies 
of those interesting documents to the public. 



251 

remonstrance to Buonaparte, which show an ami- 
able woman in the brightest point of view, as the 
courageous and affectionate defender of her hus- 
band. 



Two years since, Madame Moreau, on the 
death of her mother, Mrs. Hulot, proceeded, 
accompanied by her daughter, from America to 
Bourdeaux, with an intention of going to Paris, 
to attempt a settlement with her brothers about, 
the inheritance ; but it was not until after repeated 
applications that she was allowed to land, and to 
remain on shore till her health, which was greatly 
impaired by the distresses of her mind, should be 
sufficiently re-established to permit her to prosecute 
her intended journey to this country, and on percei- 
ving, from the state of the continent, that the 'time 
was arrived when General Moreau would not with- 
hold his valuable military services and counsels 
from the cause of Europe, she immediately embarked 
for this country, and placed herself and child under 
the protection of the British nation. 



253 



Explanations to the accompanying Map of the 
Course of the Rhine, in the Environs of Stras- 
bourg, showing the passage of the Rhine, effec- 
ted by the Army of the Rhine and Moselle, and 
the Operations at the Siege of Kehl. 



►©$«< 



PASSAGE OF THE RHINE. 

a. Troops ready to embark. 

b. Point of embarkation on the arm of the Mabile. 

c. Points of debarkation of the different divisions. 

d. Battery of three pieces of eannon attacked by the 

third division. 

e. Small bridge upon the arm of the Ehrlenrhin. 
/. Austrian battery of two pieces of cannon. 

g. Position of an Austrian battery of eight pieces of 
artillery. 

h. Bridge of boats constructed on the day of the pas- 
sage, and which existed to the termination of the 
siege of Kehl. 

i. Flying Bridge. 

k. Ferry upon the navigable canal at the sortie of the 
citadel. 



254 

1. Horn work of the Lower Rhine. 

2. Lunette of the Kintzig. 
3« Redoubt eioilee. 

4. Horn work of the Upper Rhine. 

5. Half Moon before the Horn work* 

6. Redoubt of the Cimetiere. 

7. Left part of the entrenched camp. 

8. Redoubt of trous de loups. 

9. Right part of the entrenched camp. 

10. Tetes de Pont of Ehrlenrhin. 

11. Redoubt bonnet de pretre. 

12. Horn work of Ehrlenrhin, 

13. Reduct for covering the flying bridge. 

14. He des Escargots, and its entrenchments. 

15. fie de l'Estacade. 

16. He Touffue. 

17. Estacade. 

18. Entrenchments of the Islands of the Kintzig. 

19. Batteries of the left bank. 
20- Manor of the Anabaptists. 

21 Camp of the two demi-brigades of the reserve. 

22. Ancient bridge of piles. 

23. Ruins of the church of Kehl, and the post house. 

24. Austrian battery of four pieces of heavy calibre. 

25. Austrian redans, of from ten to twelve pieces. 

26. Linesofcontravaliatioik 

27. Austrian camps. 






APPENDIX. 

(A.) 
DOCUMENT ALLUDED TO IN PAGE 52. 



General Dedon's Details of the Operations at the 
passage of the Rhine on the 24:th of June, 1796, 
and of those immediately subsequent, which are 
elucidated by an accompanying Map* 



LE 5, apres midi, on s'occupa dans la ville de 
Strasbourg, apres en avoir fait fermer les porteg, 
des demiers preparantifs que la neeessite du secret 
avoit fait differer jusques-la. On commenca par 
exp6dier les embarcations destinees aux fausses 
attaques, et a les diriger sur les points oil elles 
devoient se rendre, pour n'avoir plus ensuite a 
s'oecuper que de ce qui etoit relatif a celle de 
Kehl. 



256 

On doit se rappeler que, suivant le projet arrete, 
le passage devoit se tenter par cinq attaques, dont 
deux vraies et trois fausses, mais que celle sur 
Kehl etoit la principale. La reussite de celle de 
Gambsheim, dont le but etoit de transporter a la 
rive droite un corps de dix mille hommes avec 
quelques chevaux et quelques canons, eut singu- 
lierement favorise les troupes debarquees a Kebl, 
en prenant a dos toutce qui auroit voulu nous dis- 
puter le passage de la Kintzig, 1 et en interceptant 
les secours les plus considerables que Pennemi put 
esperer, et qui ne pouvoient lui arriver que par la 
route de Rastadt, dont nous nous serions empares ; 
mais la hauteur extraordinaire des eaux et des obsta- 
cles naturels qu'on n'avoit pas pu pre voir, la firent 
echouer. 

I/attaque de Missenheim et celles de Beclair et 
de la redoute d'Isaac, qui n'avoient d'autre objet 

1 La Kintzig, designee dans les anciens ouvrages mili- 
taires sous le nom de Quincke ou Kinche, descend des mon- 
tagnes Noires ; elle a plusieurs sources qui se reunissent vers 
Schiltach, de-la elle passe a Gengenbach, a Oifembourg et a 
Kehl, et se jette dans le Rhin une lieue au-dessous de ce fort 
au village d'Auenheim. La vallee qu'elle traverse, quoique 
tres resserree, est une des principales communications pour 
traverser la chaine des montagnes Noires, et penetrer en 
Souabe. 



257 

que de d€tourner ^attention de Pennemi, out par- 
faitement atteint leur but. Aiusi, ay ant fait con- 
noitre les emplacemens de ces quatre attaques 
second aires, et trace le tableau des forces qu'on y 
avoit destinees, nous ne rentrerons plus dans le 
d6iail de ce qui s'y est passe: le reeit en seroit d'un 
inteiet mediocre, et detourneroit l'attention qui 
doit se fixer principalement sur la veritable attaque, 
celle de KehL 

Nous eilmes lieu de craindre que l'ennemi n'eftt 
concu quelque jalousie sur ce point, puisque, vers 
le i er Messidor, il etablit entre Korck et Wilstettun 
camp de six mille hommes, forme du contingent 
de Souabe, aux ordres du general Stein. Ce camp, 
qui n'etoit qu'a deux petites heures du point de 
passage, devenoit un nouvel obstacle a notre entre- 
prise ; il devoit la rendre et plus difficile et plus 
meurtriere. Neanmoins, prenant une juste con- 
fiance dans la bravoure de notre infanterie, et loin 
d'y renoncer et de desesperer du succes, 1 nous nous 
crumes assez forts pour vaincre, sans rien changer 
au premier projet, et sans augmenter d'un seul 

1 Ce ne fut nullement par une audace irreflechie, mais par 
suite d'un cal^ul raisonne, qu'on se determina a ne pas chan- 
ger le point d'attaque, quoique nous eussions en conn©i^ 
sance de I'etablissement du camp de WiUtett. 

2K 



258 



homme le nombre deja determine des troupes de 
d6barquement. 

Le 5 Messidor, a Pentr6e de la nuit, les corps 

trouverent rassembles 



se 



destines au passage, 

sur les deux points principaux, ainsi qu'il suit; 

savoir : 



JLu poligone et sur les glacis de la citadelle de 
Strasbourg, sous les ordres du general Ferino, 
et des adj udans-g trier aux Abattucci, Montrichard 
et Decaen.- 



2 G bataillon de la S e demi-brigade 

d'infanterie legere 970' 

l er bataillon de la l6 e idem 930 

31 e demi-brigade de ligne . . . . . 3034 

S9 e idem, . 2S15 )> 

&6 e idem, 2769 

106 e idem, 3299 

% bataillons de la 84 e ....... 1? 58 



9 e regiment de cavalerie ...... £49 

18 e idem, 176 

£ eseadrons du 4 e regiment de dra- 
gons S05 r 

l re et 6 e compagnies S e regiment d ? 
artillerie legere ......... 49 



079 



1577* 



259 

Pres de Gambsheim, sous les ordres du general 
Beaupuy et des adjudans-generaux Bellavene et 
le Vasseur. 



10 e demi -brigade d'infanterie legere 2640^| 

<^deligne 2617 I m 

103 e idem 2746 f 1UM1 

109 e idem 2808 j 

6 e regiment de dragons 4i5&\ 

2 escadrons du 8 e regiment de chas- I 

seurs 226 J 

2 escadrons du 7 e de hussards 152 | y 

l re corapag. du 2 e regiment d'artillerie ! 

legere 59 j 

11700 
Le tout etoit aux ordres du general Dessaix. 



On avoit partage en quatre colonnes ou divi- 
sions les troupes destinees a former le premier 
debarquement pour Pattaque de Kehl, ainsi que les 
embareations qui devoient les transporter, et cha- 
cune de ces divisions devoit aborder a un endroit 
designe. 

La premiere, formee de sept bateaux d 111 et de 
six grands bateaux, ayant en tete quatre nacelles, 
et conduite par 1'adjud ant- general Abatucci, devoit 
debarquer sur les iles boisees, formees par le vieux 
Rhin de Kehl, immediatelment au-dessous de 1'em- 
bouchure du bras nomme Ehrlenrhin. 



26G 

La seconde division ne consistoit qu'en deux 
nacelles ; son objet etoit de jeter sur les iles qu'on a 
depuis appelees des Escargots et de PEstacade, et 
coties 14 et 15, une cinquantaine d'hommes, suffisan» 
pour chasser de ces iles les postes ennemis qui 
auroient pu nous inquieter. 

La troisieme division devoit venir ensuite; elle 
n'^toit composee que de quatre nacelles et de deu& 
bateaux d'lll, le tout monte de deux cens hommes; 
mais elle etoit charge de la tache la plus difficile* 
Elle devoit chereher Pembouehure du bras d'Eh- 
rlenrhin, et remonter ce bras Pespace d'enviran 
cinquante toises, pour aborder sous les embrasures 
d'une batterie de canon, cotee d, et dont il etoit 
necessaire de s'emparer d'abord, attendu que cette 
batterie eut foudroye les troupes de la quatrieme 
division debarqnees dans Pile d'Ehrlenrhin, et 
qu'elle eut contrarie Petablissement du pont volant, 
qui devoit ere notre seule communication, jusqu'a 
ce que le pont de bateaux fut fini. Le com man - 
demon* de cetie division fut confie a Padjudant-ge- 
niral Deeaen. 

La quatrieme division, formee de deux nacelles, 
$ix bateaux d'lll et six grands bateaux, sous les 
ordres de Padjudant-general Montriehard, etoit 
chargse d'aborder Pile d'Ehrlenrhin, et les troupes, 
apres y etre debarquee&j devoient se diviser en deux 



261 

parties. Une moitie devoit marcher vers la partid 
sup£rieure de Pile, afin de deeouvrir des barages 
qu'on esperoity trouver, et qui eussent servi de com- 
munication a la terre ferine. Le reste devoit sfe 
porter vers le petit pont e, dont on counoissoit 
a-peu-pres la position, afin de s'en emparer avant 
que Pennemi pilt le rompre, pour que ce pont pu 
servir a communiquer avee les troupes de la premiere 
ou de la troisieme division, suivant que ce petit pont 
se fdt trouve au-dessus ou audessous de Pentree du 
vieux Rhin de Kehl. 

Le 5, a neuf heures du soir, toutes les embar- 
cations avoient file hors de la ville par le canal dfe 
navigation, dans Pordre indique ci-dessus, et a dix 
heures elles etoient toutes arrivees a Pecluse du 
peage, cotee lc. La on embarqua quatre pieces 
de quatre demontees, dans quatre bateaux differens, 
dont deux pour la premiere et deux pour la qua- 
trieme division ; ensuite on se mit en marche en 
remontant le bras Mabile jusqu'au point ft, designe 
pour Pembarquement des troupes, qui etoient en 
bataille au lieu marque a. II etoit plus de minuit 
lorsque Pon commenca a entrer dans les nacelles, 
Le temps etoit tres serein et tres calme, le clair 
de lune, qui nous etoit defavorable, exigeoit qu'on 
prit beaucoup de precautions et qu'on observat le 
plus grand silenee. L'ennemi avoit sur les bords 
du Rhin des postes qui n'etoient pas a 400 metres 



262 

(200 toisses) de nous, et, de nuit, a une si petite 

distance, le moindre bruit etoit capable de nous 

trahir. Le second battaillon de la 3 e demi-brigade 

d'infanterie legere, et le premier de la l6 e furent 

embarques les premiers. L'ordre admirable avec 

lequel se lit cet embarquement, la bonne volonte 

des soldats, et Fardeur des chefs, etoient du meiller 

augure. Gependant, avant qu'il fut assez avance 

pour faire partir les premieres nacelles, le canon 

des fausses attaques superieures et inferieurs se 

fit entendre, et nous craignimes que cette cir- 

constance ne donnat Peveil aux postes de la rive 

qui nous etoit opposee, et n'augmentat le danger 

des premiers abordages : mais nous eumes bientot 

lieu de voir par Feffroi des gardes que nous sur^ 

primes, qu'elles ne s ? etoient pas preparees a notre 

visite. 

Enfin, a une heure et demie apres minuit, les 
bateaux legers des quatre divisions etant charges, le 
General donna le signal du depart ; les bateaux 
remonterent le long de la rive gauche, jusques vers 
la batterie dite de Custine, pendant qu'on continuoit 
a remplir les gros bateaux qui devoient les suivre 
et les soutenir, et qui partirent a mesure qu'ils 
furent charges. Toutes ces barques traverse- 
rent le Khin, et aborderent a la rive droite, aux 
points respeetifs qui leur avoient ete designes, avec 
autant de bonheur que d'adresse; car il n ? y eut 



263 

pas un seul bateau qui se perdit, pas un seul qui 
n'abordat a-peu-pres a l'eudroit qui lui avoit ete 
design^. 

Les troupes debarquerent avec beaueoup d'au- 
dace, sans tirer un seul coup de fusil, et empor- 
terent a la baionnette tous les postes ennemis, 
qui n'eurent que le temps de faire leur premiere 
decharge et de s'enfuir. La surprise et Peffroi 
dont ils furent saisis ne leur permirent meme 
pas de songer a couper les petits ponts de com- 
munication/ qui se trouvoient sur les bras du 
Rhin, qui nous separoient encore de la terre 
ferme. 

La troisieme colonne, cbargee de remonter le 
bras d'Ehrlenrbin, et d'aborder la batterie & y 
essuya, en y arrivant, un coup a mitraille de 
cbacune des trois pieces qui s'y trouvoient. Ce 
feu, qui ne l'ebranla nullement, ne lui causa pas 
une grande perte, et elle s'empara brusquement de 

' Tous ces ponts, composes seulement de deux sapins 
flottans a fleur d'eau, etoient si freles, qu'ils furent entiere- 
ment uses au bout de quelques heures, avant que la totalite 
de notre avant-garde y eut passe. Le pont e avoit ete re- 
connu, seulement il nous avoit ete impossible de bien juger 
de sa position, et nous ignorions s'il etoit inferieur ou supe- 
rieur a la batterie rf, et a l'entree du vieux Rhin de Kehl. 



264 

cette batterie 1 . Gelle cot6e / fut abandonnSe 
apres avoir tii*6 quelques coups, et Pennemi fut 
reduit a se defendre dans les deux redoubtes 6 
et8\ 

La partie de la quatrieme division, qui avoit 
file sur sa droite dans le haut des lies d'Ehrlen- 
rhin, pour y chercher des barages ou des movens 
de communication au continent, avoit eu le bon- 
beur d'y reussir. L'autre partie etoit aussi par- 
venue heureusement a s'emparer du pont e, avant 
qu'on eut pu le rompre, et un pareil pont avoit 
servi aux troupes de la premi6re division a francbir 
le vieux Rhin de Kehl, aux environs de la batte- 
rie /, en sorte que toutes les troupes debarquees, 
composant les trois prhicipales divisions, se trou- 



1 C*est a la prise de cette batterie, et non pas a 1'attaque 
de la redoute des Trous de loups, comme je l'avois ditpar 
erreur dans le Mgmoire militaire sur Kehl, que nos soldats 
ayant saute dans les fosses, et ne pouvant plus de la se servir 
avantageusement de leur feu, ramasserent des pierres, les 
jeterent par-dessus l'epaulement, et en accablerent tellement 
ceux qui le defendoient, qu'ils les forcerent, par cette nou- 
velle maniere de combattre, d'abandonner la batterie. 

* Ces deux redoutes, dont Pune prendra le nom de Re- 
doubte du Cimet ere, et 1 'autre celui de Redoute des Trous de 
loups, joueront un role important dans l'histoiro du sifcge de 
Kehl. 



265 

verent rcunies dans la plaine entre les deux digues 
sur le terrain voisin de la batterie d. 

Le nombre d'hommes jete sur la rive droile par 
eette premiere operation, pouvoit etre de deux 
mille cinq cens environ. lis avoient a enlever les 
deux redoutes 6 et 8, et a soutenir le choc des 
troupes que Fon devoit pvesumer que Fennemi 
detacberoit du camp de Wilstett pour les culbuter : 
ils avoient consSquemnient besoin de recevoir 
promptement des renforts. 

A la suite des bateaux de debarquement, on 
avoit fait remonter dans le bras Mabile deux 
grands bateaux charges des agres necessaires pour 
Fetablissement d'un pont volant, et derriere ceux- 
ci venoit Fequipage de pont de soixante bateaux 
d'artillerie dont il a deja ete fait mention. Des 
que Peveil avoit ete donne, on avoit commence a 
travailler dans le bras Mabile a la construction de 
ce pont volant. II etoit pres d'etre achev6 a la 
pointe du jour : mais, comme il falioit encore pres 
de deux heures pour lui faire doubler la pointe des 
Epis, le conduire a sa place et en jeter les ancres ; 
que la grande hauteur des eaux et Pextreme rapidite 
du Rhin exigeoient que Fon mit beaucoup de cir- 
conspection a ces operations, le General, pour ac- 
celerer le passage des renforts a la rive droite, 
ordonna que les bateaux qui avoient servi au pre- 

2L 



S66 

iiaier debarquenient, seroient ramenes a la , rive 
gauche pour en operer un second. Cette ma- 
noeuvre s'execufca pendant F6tablissement du pont 
volant, et Pon se procura ainsi, en attendant qu'on 
put en faire usage, le inoyen de doubter nos forces 
sur la rive ennemie, par les convois successifs de ces 
bateaux de transport. 

Ce fut une operation tres judicieuse, et qui doit 
etre imit6e dans toutes les circonstances senablables, 
que d'avoir enleve anx premieres troupes debar- 
qu£es tout inoyen de retraite, dans l'intention de 
leur procurer des secours plus prompts ; et nous 
avons eu lieu de nous felieiter d'avoir pris ce parti, 
Ipuisque, des que les Generaux qui comman- 
doient le camp de Wilstett eurent avis du passage, 
ils s'avancerent avec deux mille homines d'infan- 
terie, de la cavalerie et de l'artillerie pour nous 
renverser; mais leur choc fut soutenu par notre 
infanterie formee dans la plaine, sous la protection 
de deux de nos pieces de quatre et de deux canons 
pris a Fennemi, 

Le pont volant fut entierement etabli vers six 
heures du matin, et on s'en servit pour passer 
quelques chevaux qui defilerent un a un et avec 
bien de la peine sur le pont e ; mais on ne put en 
profiter pour passer de Partillerie, attendu que les 
lies d'Eurlenrhin 6toient impracticables pour du 



267 

eanom Le reste de la matinee fut employe a faire 
passer de l'infantetie, et par le pont volant, et tout- 
a-la-fois par les bateaux qui alloint et venoient 
continuellement, mais dont le service etoit nean 
moins ralleuti par la force de la derive occasiouu^e 
par la grande rapidite du fleuve. 

L'intention du General, pour ne pas compro- 
mettre Pequipage de pont, etoit de n'en faire 
eommencer la construction que lorsque nous serions 
entitlement maitres de Kehl, de facon que sans 
artillerie, presque sans cavalerie, mais avec une 
infanterie excellente, il falloit emporter les redoutes 
8, 6, et 8, la ville et le village de Kehl, et register 
aux efforts de la reserve camdee a Wilstett. 

Notre avant garde, alors composed des deux 
bataillons d'infanterie legere dont il a deja e e fait 
mention, et d'une partie des 31 e , 56 e et 89 e d'in- 
fanterie de ligne, se divisa pour attaquer a-lo-fois 
les redoutes; une partie suivit la digue et marcha 
a celle du Cimetiere, et Pautre se dirigea vers celle 
des Trous de loups. 

La redoute du Cimetiere et la batterte g avoient 
inquiete par quelques coups de canon Fetablisse- 
ment du pont volant, mais sans succes. Elles 
etoient elles-memes battues, de la rive gauche, par 
notre grande batterie de la culee du pont, et nos 



268 

canonniers tiroient avee tant de jiistessc, que plu- 
sieurs de ceux de la redoute eurent les teles empor- 
tees ; aussi ne fit-elle pas une longue resistance. 

L'attaque de la redoute 8 (des Trous de loups) 
fut plus serieuse. Elle debuta par une fusillade 
terrible et bien soutenue de part et d'autre. Bile 
etoit defendue par trois cens hommes d'infanterie 
et cinq bouches a feu. Elle fi pendant quelque 
temps une defense tres vigoureuse ; mais, tournee 
par la gorge, et assaillie de toute part, elle ceda 
a la fin a Paudace de nos troupes. 1 

Apres la prise de cette redoute, Fennemi ne se 
defendit que foiblement. Cependant la cavalerie 
des emigres chargea avee assez de bravoure une 
compagnie de grenadiers de la 31 e ; mais elle fut 
repoussee avee perte. Nos tirailleurs chaserent 
Fennemi du fort 2 de la ville et du village de Kehl 

1 C'est la que l'on fit prisonnier le fils du prince de Fur- 
stemberg. 

2 On ne doit pas croire que le fort de Kehl fut a cette 
epoque en etat de defense ; il avoit ete rase apres avoir ete 
cede a l'Empire par le traite de Bade, et depuis il n'avoit 
pas ete retabli : il n'en existoit que les fondemens, les reliefs 
en etoient effaces, et les fosses combles. On avoit construit, 
depuis cette guerre, pour la defense de ce point, les trois 
redoutes de la plaine, es les batteries indiquees sur la carte 
ci-jointe ; et ces redoutes une fois prises, Kehl n'offroit guere 



269 

et de la redoute etoilee 3. II nc nous disputa 
meuie pas le passage de la Kintzig, comme on 
auroit pu s ? y attendre; et vers les dix heures dn 
matin, nous etions deja maitres de tous ces postes, 
et nous poursuivions Pennemi sur la route d'Offem- 
bourg. 

Le reste du jour, il ne se passa plus rien de bien 
interessant a le rive drote. Le pont volant et les 
bateaux de transport etoient employes sans relaehe 
a passer de Pinfanterie i 1 on se tirailla de part et 
cPautre jusqu'a la nuit, et nous fimes encore quel- 
ques prisonniers dans la soiree. 

Nous primes en tout dans cette journee quatre 
a cinq cens hommes, deux mille fusils, treize pieces 
de canon, un obusier et plusieurs caissons ; Penemi 
eut six cens hommes tu£s ou blesses, et nous n ? en 
perdimes pas le quart. 3 

plus de mojens de resistance qu'un village ordinaire, et par 
consequent il n'etoit nullement a l'abri d'un coup de main. 

1 Les troupes destinees a l'attaque de Gambsheim n'j 
ayant pas reussi, etoient venues renforcer celle de Kehl. 

1 Jamais victoire aussi complette et aussi importante n'a 
coute aussi peu de monde; nous n'avons pas perdu deux 
cens hommes tant tues que blesses. Le citoyen Girard, 
capitaine du second regiment d'artillerie a pied, y fut tue ; 



270 

A deux on trois heures apres midi, on comment* 
a s'occuper de la construction du pont. On eioit 
d'abord convenu de Petablir un pen au-dessous du 
pont Volant aboutissant a Tile d'Ehrlenrhin ; mais 
conlme les communications etoient impracticablcs 
dans cette ile, et qu'ou se trouvoit maitre d<5 
' Kehl, et dans une position a pouvoir sans danger 
Petablir bien plus avantageusement a la gorge du 
fort, on resolut de le placer environ a 200 metres 
(150 tois.) en dessous du vieux pont, dans un endroit 
cote h, oil le Kbin se trouve partage en deux bras 
par une lie basse et sablonneuse. On fit descendre 
de la pointe des Epis l'eqtiipage de bateaux qui 
y etoit rassemble, et des qu'il fut arrive au-dessous 
de Femplacement design^, on travailla a jeter le 
pont. Ce travail fut commence a six heures du 
soir, continue toute la nuit, et entierement termine 
sur les deux bras le 7 Messidor entre dix et onzes 
heures du matin. 1 

le citoyen Bec-de-lievre, chef de batatllon de la 3 demi^ 
brigade d'infanterie legere, y fut blesse. 

1 Ce pont fut compose de quarante-sept bateaux, dont 
trente-sept sur le grand courant, et dix sur le bras de Kehl. 
Pour faciliter la communication du pont volant avec la rive 
droite, on avoit construit simultanement sur le bras d'Ehrlen- 
rhin, a la place du petit pont e, un pont de bateaux qui a 
subsiste jusqu'a la fin du siege de Kehl. 



271 

Ce ne fut qu'a cet instant que la communication 
des deux rives fut solidement etablie, et que notre 
position fut bien assure e surla droite. Alors seule- 
menton put se feliciter de la reussite decette grande 
entreprise deja tentee infructueusement en 1793/ et 
dont le succes devoit procurer a la France l'avan- 
tage inappreciable de voir le theatre de la guerre 
s'eloigner de ses frontieres, et de faire vivre ses 
armees aux depens de l'ennemi. 

i Le passage du Rhin, tente le 17 Septembre 1795, a 
Huningue, a Niffren, a Kehl et a Fort-Vauban tout-a-la-fois, 
n'a echoue que parce qu'il avoit ete tres-mal concerte ; on 
avoit alors abondance de moyens en tout genre 5 et si on 
.avoit dirigi? cette operation avec la prudence et l'intelligence 
necessaires, elle auroit infailliblement reussi. On voulut en 
rejeter la faute sur le corps des pontonniers ; mais la con- 
duite de ce corps, dans les dernies campagnes, prouve 
evidemment qu'on n'a du attribuer ce revers qu'a Pignorance 
et a l'etourderie de ceux qui dirigeoient l'operation : et tous 
les militaires instruits qui ont ete a portce d'en juger, sont 
d'accord la-dessus. C'est avec une extreme surprise que 
j'ai lu, dans le second volume des Campagnes des Frangais, 
page 287, que nous passames ie Rhin a cette epoque, 
dans deux endroits differens; qu'un de ces passages nous 
valut la prise de Kehl, et qu'on s'empressa d'en retablir les 
fortifications, et de jeter un pont sur ce fleuve, etc. La 
verite est, au contraire, que le passage d'alors ne reussit- 
nulle part, et que ceux qui sacrifierent beaucoup de braves 
gens a une tentative ridiculement combinee, ne voulant 
pas perdre en entier la gloire qu'ils s'en etoient promise, 
firent borabarder, sans aucun but utile, les habitations de 



272 

Les Autrichiens et leurs partisans ayant affecte 
dans le temps de presenter le passage du Rhin 
corame 1'effet d'une temerite aveugle, dont Pheu- 
reuse issue, selon eux, ne doit etre attribute qu'a 
la poltronnerie et a la mauvaise conduite des 
troupes des cercles a qui la garde du Rhin etoit 
confiee, et a quelques hasards heureux qui secon- 
derent notre audace, je ni'etois efforee de demen- 
tir ces absurdes allegations, et de prouver que le 
succes de cette tentative avoit ete le resultat na- 
turel de Fhabilete de nos dispositions et de 1'intre- 
pide valeurr de nos troupes. 

Mais depuis, la reussite d'un second passage du 
Rhin, plus audacieuseinent entrepris, et bien plus 
opiniatrement defendu que le premier, et d ? autres 
exploits non moins etonnans, ont du convaincre 

Kehl et celles du vieux Brisach qui furent reduites en cen- 
dre. Nous invitons le citoyen Liger a mieux choisir les 
sources ou il puise les materiaux dont il compose son im- 
mense histoire, et a se defier des gazettes du temps. Ce n'est 
pas la seule erreur qui lui soit echappee dans ce qu'il a 
dit des armees du Rhin. Les difficulties que j'ai eprouvees 
pour tracer seulement Pesquisse de la campagne d'une ar- 
mee, me donnent la plus haute idee des talents d'un Ecri- 
vain qui entreprend l'histoire militaire de toute la revolu- 
tion; et si j'ose lui donner ce conseil, c'est pour la perfec- 
tion d'un ouvrage aussi interessant, et d'un plan aussi etendu 
que le sien. 



273 

les plus incrcdules que riea n'est impossible a la 
valeur franeaise, lorsqu'elle est guidee par le genie 
et Pexperienee. Cette verite effrayante pour ceux 
qui voudroient encore se montrer nos enuemis, a 
dil leur etre demon tree par ces nouveaux succes 
d'une maniere plus convaincante que par tous nos 
raisonnemens. Neanmoins, comme je crois qu'il 
pent etre utile de mettre le lecteur a portee d'ap- 
precier le pour et le eontre, et de juger par lui- 
meme du degre de probability que nous pouvions 
avoir de reussir au passage du Rhin, je vais sus- 
pendre un instant le recit des operations de la cam- 
pagne, pour essayer de lui presenter, d'un c6ie 
les obstacles que l'ennemi pouvoit opposer a nos 
progres sur la rive droite, en supposant qu'il ne 
negligent aucune de ses ressources, et lui montrer 
de l'autre quels moyens nous avions pour surmon- 
ter ces obstacles. 

Je ne ferai pas entrer en ligne de compte toutes 

les entraves que notre situation, le manque de che- 

vaux, la peaurie d'argent et les besoins de toute 

espece, ont apportees a nos preparatifs. Je ne 

parlerai pas non plus des obstacles qui resultoient 

de Fetat du fleuve extremement gonfle par la 

fonte des neiges, qui a lieu dans les Alpes a cette 

epoque, ni du clair de lune qui pouvoit trahir le 

secret de Pembarquement, ni de toutes les contra- 

i?ietes qu'on epreuve necessairement dans les acces- 

2 M 



274 

soires (Tune operation aussi compliqu^e, et qui en- 
traine autant de details. Quoique la moindre de 
ces contrarietes suffise quelquefois pour faire tout 
echouer, comme a force d'eftbrts et de persever- 
ance nous pouvions maitriser les evenemens sur 
notre rive, je ne mettrai dans la balance que les 
obstacles que Fennemi pouvoit nous opposer, a 
compter de notre abord sur celle qu'il devoit de- 
fendre. 

Adtnettons a la rigueur que les postes repandus 
dans les iles oil nous sommes descendus, et dans 
la batterie d, aient fait leur service avec assez de 
surveillance pour ne pas se laisser surprendre, et 
pour que leurs sentinelles aient aperc.u les premieres 
barques a leur debouche du bras Mabile ; suppo- 
suns me me que tous ces postes se soient mis sous 
les armes pour s'opposer a 1'abordage des bateaux, 
est-il presumable que de simples gardes eussent 
pu empecber le debarquement d'une flotille entiere, 
dont le Rhin fut couvert en un instant, et qui 
portoit plus de deux mille hommes bien deter- 
mines ? Et n'etoit-il pas au contraire tres vraisem- 
blable, qu'en voyant les premieres barques suivies 
d'un nombre considerable de grands bateaux pour 
les soutenir, ces gardes s'enfuiroient, et qu'elles 
iroient porter l'effroi dans les corps dont elles 
faisoient partie, en exagerant encore, comme de 
coutume, le nombre des assaillans ? 



275 

De la pointe des Epis, il nc faut que quelques 
minutes et quelques coups de rames pour traverser 
le Rhiii : ainsi, nous ne devions pas beaucoup re- 
douter l'effet de Fartillerie ennemie. On sait qu'a 
cette heure les canonniers sont endormis ; qu'avant 
qu'ils aient tout prepare, et qu'ls puissent tirer le 
premier coup de canon, il s'ecoule bien quelques 
minutes ; sans compter qu'une pareille alerte re- 
pand toujours beaucoup de confusion dans leur ser- 
vice. En effet, chaque piece qui eut pu contrarier 
le debarquement, ne tira qu'un coup ; et comme 
la batterie rf, reconnue pour la plus fortement armee 
et la plus dangereuse par sa position, fut abordee 
par une colonne qui debarqua immediatement sous 
ses embrasures, et qu'elle fut enlevee a la baionnette 
et a coups de pierres, la premiere defense de Pen- 
nemi se trouva paralysee avant qu'il eut pu en tirer 
quelque parti : on devoit s'y attendre d'apres leg 
mesures que nous avions prises, et la connoissance 
parfaite que nous nous etions procuree de la dis- 
position de ses postes et de ses batteries. Aussi 
n'etoit ce pas le succes de ce premier pas qui pou- 
voit paroitre incertain ; et pour oser le franchir, il 
n'etoit pas necessaire de compter sur la laehete 
des corps charges de s ? y opposer 5 1 car il est tou- 



1 Ce premier succes est du certainement en partie a la 
justesse des dispositions qu'on avoit faites, et aux combinai- 
sons d'apres lesquelles on avoit determine' lea points d'abor- 



276 

jours tres probable que des troupes, quelqu* excel- 
lentes qu ? on les suppose, qui seront disseminees ea 
petits posies pour la garde d'une ligne queleonque, 
He la defendront avec un peu de viguer que lors- 
qu'elles se seront attendues a etre attaques, qu'elles 
se seront prepares a la defense, et qu'elles au- 
ront en reeme-teraps l'espoir d ere promptemenfc 
secourues par des reserves; et Pon ne devoit pas 
s'attendre a une resistance opiniatre de la part de 
gens surpris et deconeertes par la multiplicite et la 
vivacite des attaques. 

Parvenus a d^barquer, nous avions encore bien 
des obstacles a surmonter ; mais c'Hoit deja un 
grand point d'avoir un pied en terre ferrae et des 
troupes a Pautre bord d'Ehrlenrhin, pour tendre la 



d^g^s des differentes divisions. Effectivement on peut se 
coiivaincre aisement, et par les details que nous avons don- 
nes, et par l'examen de notre carte, que la troisieme division 
en remontant le bras d'Ehrlenrhin, et en s'emparant de la 
batterie d, nous procura la double avantage de nous donner 
pied en terre ferme, et d'eteindre le feu de la batterie la plus 
dangereuse. La tache de cette division etoit difficile ; d'abord 
ii etoit possible que les bataliers manquassent 1 'embouchure 
de ce bras, qui est assez etroite; ensuite il falloit beaucoup 
d'audace pour le remonter a force de rames, dans un espace 
de plus de cinquante toises: aussi elle fut confiee aux bate- 
liers les plus hardis, et Padjudant-general Decaen, depuis 
general de brigade, officier aussi intelligent qu'intrepide, fii£ 
charge de la commander. 



277 

main a celles a qui ce bras restoit encore a passer. 
En coupant ses petits ponts de communication, et 
entr'autres le pont e, Pennenii auroit infaillible- 
ment retarde notre passage. Neanmoins, au moyen 
des bateaux de transport de la troisieme division, 
et de quelque agres de pont prepares a cet effet a 
la poiute des Epis, on seroit bientdt parvenu a 
faire un pont plus solide et plus commode que le 
pont e, sur lequel on etoit oblige de defiler un a 
un; il auroit ete termine avant que Pennemi exit 
eu le temps de rassembler assez d'infanterie pout 
marcher a nous. Quant a la cavalerie, elle n'eut 
pas ete redoutable dans un terrain marecageux, 
couvert de broussailles et coup6 de digues et de 
flaques d'eau, tel que celui qui s'etend du bras 
d'Ehrienrhin a Kebl. II etoit naturel d'ailleurs 
d'imaginer que dans le premier moment de sa sur- 
prise, Pennemi n'auroit ni le temps ni la presence 
d'esprit necessaires pour couper ces ponts ; nous 
avions bien compte la-dessus, et Peveuement a 
prouve que notre calcul etoit bien fonde. 

S ? il eut garni d'infanterie les digues de la plaine, 
notre victoire nous auroit ete plus disputed, et nous 
auroit peut-etre ecu e plus cher; mais il est dou- 
teux qu'il eut pu d'abord rassembler assez de monde 
pour profiter de cette ressource, et ces digues nous 
eussent bien foiblement arretes, si elles eussent ei£ 
ijial garnies. 



278 

Quant a la batterie g de la tete de pont, elk 
etoit trop eloiguee du point d'attaque, et trop in- 
quietee par nos batteries de la rive gauche, pour 
que son feu fut bien dangereux. Les redoutes 6 
et 8 du Cimetiere et des Trous de loups ont fait 
tout ce qu'elles pouvoient faire. La premiere, mal 
defilee, etoit ecrasee par la batterie de gros calibre 
que nous avions a la culee du grand pont sur la 
rive gauche ; il n'etoit pas tenable : la seconde a 
fait une belle defense, et telle q'on eut pu Fexi- 
ger des troupes les plus aguerries. 

On voit sur la carte ci-jointe quelle etoit notre 
position apres avoir enleve ces deux redoutes. 
L'ennemi restoit maitre de la ville et du village de 
Kehl ; il pouvoit nous les disputer ainsi que la re- 
doute etoilee 3, et d6fendre le passage de la Kint- 
zig. Nos tirailleurs ont suffi pour le chasser de 
tous ces postes, et non-seulement il ne nous a pas 
dispute le passage de cette riviere, mais il n'a pas 
me me pris la precaution d'en couper le pont, de 
facon que nous nous sommes trouves maitres de 
la grande route, qui au-dela de ce pont se divise en 
deux, celle de Rastadt, et celle d'Ojffembourg. 

On pourroit se persuader au premier coup-d ? oeil, 
que si Pennemi eut mis plus d'opiniatrete a se main 
tenir a Kehl, et dans la redoute etoilee; si, en aban- 
clonnant ces postes, il eut rompu le pont de la 



279 

Kintzig, et s'il nous etit vivement dispute le pas- 
sage de ceite riviere, on pourroit, dis-je, se per- 
suader qu'ayant ainsi donne le temps a la totalite 
des troupes du camp de Wilstett d'arriver a son 
secours, il nous eut infailliblement culbutes dans le 
Rhin : mais si Ton considere qu'au moment ou nous 
sommes entres dans Kehl, nous devions avoir au 
moins cinq mille hommes d'excellente infanterie a 
la rive droite, sur un terrain coupe tres favorable 
a cette arme ; que le pont volant, qui etoit en active, 
et les bateaux de transport donnoient passage a 
cinq cens hommes et plus a cbaque quart-d'heure ; 
que Pennemi, qui ne devoit guere avoir d'abord 
plus de mille hommes a Kehl, en avoit deja perdu 
cinq cens; que le grand feu des fausses attaques 
sur toute Petendue du Rhin devoit rendre les Chefs 
tres irresolus et retenir chacun a son poste, et 
que les Generaux ennemis, mal informes de nos 
veritables forces, devoient naturellement se les ex- 
agerer, on cessera d'etre surpris des fautes que'ils 
commirent dans cette circon stance, et Pon convi- 
endra que ces fautes presumables devoient entrer 
pour beaucoup dans le calcul des probabilites que 
nous avions de reussir. On sentira aussi Pinutilite 
des efforts qu'eussent pu faire les debris de la gar- 
nison de Kehl, pour defendre la Kintzig, avant 
Farrivee de quelques renforts plus considerables que 
ceux quPls avoient pu recevoir jusqu'alors, contre 
4es forces plus que doubles, et dans des circons- 



280 

tances cm Pinfluenee si puissante du moral du sold?* 
est aussi favorable a celui qui attaque que contraire 
k celui qui se defend. D'ailleurs, Pardeur que no» 
troupes mirent a la poursuite de Pennenii, ne lui eut 
pas laisse le temps de couper le pout decette riviere 
assez completernent, pour qu'il ne put etre prompte- 
ment, repare et practicable au moins pour Pinfanterie, 
et cette riviere etant gueable alors en beaucoup d ? en- 
droits, cette precaution de sa part ne nous eut que 
foibleraent arietes. 

On avoit prevu que Pennenii defendroit cette po- 
sition, et le passage de Ganibsheim avoit principale- 
ment pour objet de Pobliger a la quitter. Ainsi, si 
d'un c6te la fortune nous a ete favorable a quelques 
6gards, de Pautre elle nous a mal secondes, en faisant 
manquer cette attaque second aire par quelques 
incidens auxquels on n'avoit pas du s'attendre. 
D'ailleurs, si Pennemi nous eut forces par plus d'opi- 
niatrete a nous disputer le passage de la Kintzig, 
nous aurions deploye contre lui de nouveaux raoyens 
qui Peussent certainement etonne, et nous avions 
prepare d'avance une operation qui n'a pas eu lieu, 
parce qu'elle est devenue inutile, et a laquelle il n'eut 
pu rien opposer : mais par prudence, je douis en 
supprimer les details. 

II est done incontestable que le pont volante une 
ibis etabli, et il Pctoit a six heures du matin, il 



281 

etoit impossible a Pennemi de rassembler dans le 
jour assez de forces pour que nous n'eussions pas 
toujours sur lui Pavantage du nombre. 1 Nous 



1 Calculons les forces de l'ennemi dans les environs de 
Kehl, et combinons si d'apres le temps presume necessaire 
pour les rassembler et marcher contre nous, il lui etoit pos- 
sible d'avoir Pavantage du nombre avant l'etabiissement du 
pont. Le camp de Wilstett etoit fort de dix-huit cents che- 
vaux etde quatre mille hommes a pied environ. De ce camp 
ctoient probablement detaches les cantonnemens des villages 
voissiris de Korck, Neumiihl, Sundheim, etc. ; il y avoit mille 
hommes a Kehl, qui gardoient depuis Marlen jusqu'a Auen- 
heim. Supposons deux mille hommes repandus dans les 
villages de Missenheim, d'Altenheim, Goldschir et Marlen ; 
deux mille dans ceux d'Auenheim, Litzenheim, Diersheim 
et jusques vis-a-vis Gambsheim. A deux heures du matin, nous 
ne pouvions avoir contre nous que les gardes ordinaires des 
bords du Rhin et des redoutes de Kehl. II devoit bien etre 
quatre heures avant que le premier moment de la surprise 
eiit permis aux chefs qui commandoient a Kehl de rassem- 
bler tout leur monde, et de faire des dispositions defensives 
qui le missent tout en action. Voila done mille hommes 
contre nous, et nous en avions deux mille cinq cens debarques. 
Le general Stein qui commandoit, dut recevoir a la fois des 
avis venant des differens points d'attaque, ce qui dut aug- 
menter son etonnement et son incertitude, et differer l'expe- 
dition de ses ordres; et ce n'est pas exagerer de dire que ce 
lui qu'il envoya au camp de Wilstett pour marcher contre 
nous, ne put guere y arriver avant six heures. En supposant 
qu'on eut pu l'executer sur-le-champ, et que toutes les troupes 
qui le composoient eussentpu se mettre en mouvement, 
elles ne seroient pas arrivees a Kehl avant neuf heures. A 



282 

manquions a la verite d'artillerie et de troupes a 
cheval ; mais une grande supeeriorite en infanterie, 
et en infanterie excellente, nous eut mis a raeme 
de resister aux plus grands efforts dont il eut ete" 
capable. 

Mais a la nuit, le pont etant a peine commence, 
et l'ennemi ne pouvant plus prendre le change 
sur le vrai point d'attaque, on pouvoit crainde qu'jl 



tette heure il j avoit done possibility que nous eussions contre 
li^us six mille hommes, dont quinze cens de cavalerie. 
Ajoutons aux deux mille cinq cens hommes du premier de> 
barquement, quatre mille cinq cens hommes passes en troi* 
heures sur le pont volant, et trois mille au moins fournis par 
le passage successif des bateaux de transport, et Pon verra 
que dans cette supposition, nous avions encore a opposer a 
l'enemi trois mille cinq cens hommes de plus qu'il ne Iui 
eut ete possible d'en rassembler ; cette superiority eut ete plug 
que suffisante pour compenser le manque d'artillerie et de 
cavalerie, sans meme avoir aucun egard a la bravoure et a* 
moral des troupes, les redoutes de la plaine sur-tout etant 
deja en notre pouvoir. Pendant le reste de la journee, l'ennemi, 
inquiete par les fausses attaques n'eut pas ose se degarnir 
au-dessus ni au-dessous de Kehl, et le nombre calcule ci-dessus 
ne pouviot s'accroitre. Notre superiority relative augmentoit 
done de douze a quinze cens hommes toutes les heures ; il 
etoit done pue probable qu'il vint nous attaquer avant qu'il eut 
recu de loin des renforts considerables, qui lui donnassent 
l'avantage du nombre : ce qui ne pouvoit avoir lieu avant 
Fetablissement du pont. 



283 

ne joignit aux six mille hommes carapfcs a Wilstett, 
les troupes qui formoient le cordon sur le Rhin a 
quelques lieues de distance, et qu'il ne rassemblat 
ainsi un corps assez considerable pour attaquer avec 
avantage, avant que Petablissement du pont nous 
eut misa meme de faire soutenir notre infanterie par 
de l'artillerie et de la cavalerie : on pouvoit meme 
s'attendre a un choc d'autant plus violent, qu'il ne 
lui restoit plus que cette ressource, et qu'il devoit 
bien savoir que le pont fini, il ne seroit plus temps de 
rien entrependre contre nous, avec quelqu'espece de 
succes. Aussi, notre position sur la rive droite, avec 
un pont volant pour toute communication, sans cava- 
lerie, presque sans cauon, n'ayant de secours a 
attendre que de notre courage, nous parut, a l'entree 
de la nuit, un peu plus critique que dans le jour. 
Cependant on voit en reflechissant, que meme en. 
relevant tous ses postes sur le Rhin, l'ennemi n'eut 
pu rassembler assez de troupes pour avoir sur nous 
la superiority du nombre, puisque le 9, il n'avoit 
encore pu reunir dans le camp de Bihel, plus de 
quinze mille hommes environ, et qu'au moyen des 
renforts qui passoient sur le pont volant, nous de- 
Tious avoir sur la rive droite, avant la nuit, un 
nombre d'hommes au moins egal a celui-ci, et que 
consequemmentnous etions bien en mesure de sou- 
tenir ses attaques. Malgre ces considerations, et; 
malgre la grande probability qu'il y eut ete repouss' ^ 
rien ne P excuse de n ? avoir tente aucun eflbrt pen- 



284 

dant loiite la unit. Nous avons sans doute ete re- 
de'vables de la tranquillity dont il nous a laisse 
jollity a Pirresolution de ses Generaux, ainsi qu ? a 
la terreur et a la confusion qui se repandent ordi- 
nairenient parmi des troupes qui se sunt laisse sur- 
prendre. 

Je crois qu'il est maintenant bien demontfe, que 
tout ce que Pennemi eut pu faire pour niettre ob- 
stacle a notre passage, n'en eut pas empeche la 
reussiie. II eut pu, sans doute, en profitant de 
tons ses a vantages, le rendre plus difficile et plus 
meurtrier ; mais le plan de cette operation etoit si 
bien combine, et tout y etoit si bien prevu, qu'il 
eut fall a un malhear bien obstine pour ne pas y 
reussir. Ainsi, quoique Pon doive toujours regarder 
comme une action tres hasardeuse celle de passer 
un fleuve, comme le Rhin, a la vue de Pennemi, 
lorsque celui qui Pentreprend a parfaitement calcule 
ses mouvemens, qu'il est parvenu, par d'habiles 
manoeuvres, a donner le change, et qu'il peut comp- 
ter sur le courage des roupes, il ne peut etre accuse 
d'une aveugle temerite. II me semble, au contraire, 
qu'a la guerre on doit donner quelque chose au 
hasard, et qu'en pareil cas, on doit compter au 
nombre de ses avantages, la surprise et Peffroi 
qu ? on inspire toujours a son ennemi par une ten 
tative audacieuse : et Pon conviendra que si la 
fortune nous a ete favorable, nous avons bien su 






285 

la maitriser par la sagesse de nos dispositions, et 
que Intelligence et le zele des chefs, la bravoure 
et le devouement du soldat dans cette circonstance 
meritoient bien d'etre couronnes du plus heureux 
succes. 



APPENDIX 



(B.) 

DOCUMENT ALLUDED TO IN PAGE 128. 

Etat des troupes employees a la defense de ICehL 
1796-7. 

Les Generaux Dessaix et St. Cyr, commandant la 
defense, et se relevant tous les einq jours. 

Le General de Division Eble, ayant sous ses 
ordres le Chef de Brigade Lobreau, commandant 
PArtillerie. 

Le General de Brigade Boisgerard, commandant 
le Genie. 

Le Chef de Battaillon Dedon, charge en chef des 
Equipages de ponts. 



jreneraux 


Generaux 




Nombre 


de 


de 


Demi -Brigade* 


des 


Hi vision, 


Brigade. 




Bataill. 






3 e de ligne. 


3 




Davoust. 


10 idem . . . 


3 


Ambert. 




31 idem . . . 


3 




Decaen. 


44 idem . . . 


3 






62 idem . • . 


3 




Eckmayer. 


68 idem . . . 


3 


Juhesme. 




76 idem . . . 


3 




Lecourbe. 


84 idem . . . 


3 






93 idem . . . 


1 




Montrichard 


97 idem . . . 


3 


t. Suzanne. 




100 idem . . . 


3 




Tarreau. 


103 idem . . . 


3 






106 idem . . . 


3 






109 idem . . . 


3 








40 



JSTota >e ces quarante bataillons, quinze etoient journellemcnt de service a 
la rive droke: s^voir, six dans le fort de Kehl, trois dans le camp retranche, trois 
dans les lies d'Ehrlenrhin, et irois dans 1'iie de la Kintzig. Une reserve de six 
bataillons campoit a la rive gauche dans Pile du lihin. Le General Saint-Cyr rre 
vint relever Dessaix que vers la fin de Frimaire. 



289 



Tableau de Varmep Autrichienne employi* 
siege de Kehl. 



Le General Latour, General d'Artillerie, comman- 
dant le siege: son quartier-general etoit a Korch; 

Le Field-Marechal- Lieutenant Kollo wrath, com- 
mandant FArtillerie; 

Le Colonel Szeredai, Directeur du G£nie. 

INFANTERIE. 

Staeder, Lieutenant- General. 
Le Prince Frederic d'Orange, Zopf, Generaux- 
Majors. 

Bataillons, 

Grun-Laudon, corps franc £ 

fezeckler 1 

Bannat - -- 1 

Esclavons ■ . . .8 J>1£ 

Starray 3 j 

Bengorsky ....... . . 2 j 

Natlasiy • . ♦ , . 1J 

IS 

SO 



290 

Bataillom, 

De P autre part * . . .12 
Burger, Terney, Generaux-Majors. 
Arcbidue Antoine . , . . i" 

Olivier Wallis . 2 

Kaunitz . . . . . 2 

Alton . . . . . . .3 

Joseph Colloredo . . . . 1 l>15 

Gemmingen . .... 1 

Kaiser . . 1 

Grenadiers de Retz, Reisinger, Dietrich et 
Pitsch . . 4^ 

Petrasch, Lieutenant-General. 
Kerpen, Foulon, Generaux-Majors. 
Corps franc de Gyulay . 2~ 

Archiduc Charles . . . 3 

Francois Kinsley . . , . . 2 

Charles Schoeder . . . 2. _. 

Grand Due de Toscane . . . 2 ' 

Michel Wallis . ... 1 

Wenceslas Colloredo . . . . i 

De Ligne . . . i m 

Riese, Lieutenant-General. 
Baillet-Latour, Sebottendorffj Hegel, 

Generaux-Majors. 
Corps franc de Servie . . . .2") 
Wartensleben . ... 3 I 

Esclavons . . . . . 1 J 
Hohenlohe , . . 2 I ^ 

Wenckheim . . «■.'.* 1 r 

Gemmingen . ... 1 

Grenadiers de Candiani, Szenassi, Absaltern 
et Biideskuty 4 

Total 55 



291 

CAVALERIE. 

Mels-Colloredo, Kospoth, Lieutenans-Generaux. 
Merfeld, O'Reilly, Nauendorf, Gener. -Majors. 

Escadrons. 

Hussards des frontieres .... 10 



Levener, chevaux-legers 


6 


Karackray, idem 


. . 6 


Prince de Lorraine, cuirassiers 


. . 6 


Kaiser, chevaux-legers . 


. . 6 


Kaiser, carabiniers 


. % 


Archiduc Jean, dragons 


4 


Hoenzollern, cuirassiers 


, . 6 


Total . . 


. . . . 46 



JVota. L'emigre Klingin de Strasbourg, general -major au 
service de l'Empereur, s'y rendit utile a l'ennemi par les con- 
noissances qu'il avoit des localities; plusiersingenieursfrancais 
emigres servoient a ce siege. Les troupes employees a la 
garde du Rhin ne sont pas comprises dans ce tableau. 



CONTENTS. 



Family and Education of General Moreau . 1% 
General Moreau elected Provost of Law in the Uni- 
versity of Rheimes . • . • . . . 13 
General Moreau nominated General of the Provin- 
cial Parliament . • . . . . 14 

His Entrance into the Army . . . . 16 

His first military enterprize .... 17 

General Moreau promoted to the feank of General of 
Division . $ . . . . . . 18 

His appointment to the command of a Corps of the 
Army with which General Pichegru, in 1794, 
invaded Austrian West Flanders ib. 

Blockade and Storming of Menin ... 19 
Siege of Ypres and Defeat of General Clairfait . 21 
Surrender of Ypres . . . . . . 23 

Fall of Charleroi . . . . . . ih 

Ferocious decree of the Members of the Ruling 
Party in France . . . . . 2i 

Dignified and humane conduct of His Royal High- 
ness the Duke of York on the publication of the 
above decree . * . . . . 25 

The Evacuation of West Flanders and the Nether- 
lands in General determined upon by the Austrians 28 
Abandonment of the Flemish Towns between Ghent 
and the Coast by the Austrians * . . ih 



294 

Surrender of Bruges to the French ... 28 
Surrender of Oudenarde ditto .... 29 
Supineness of the Dutch ..... 31 
Surrender of Cassandria to the French . . i6. 
Murder of the Father of General Moreau, and con- 
duct of the General on that event ... 32 
Surrender of Sluys to the French . . . 33 
Surrender of Coblentz to the Arms of General Mo- 
reau, and Retreat of its garrison across the Rhine 34 
Siege and Operations against Nimeguen . . 35 
Capture of Ditto by General Moreau . . 38 
General Moreau's Operations against St. Andre . 39 
Plans for the Conquest of Holland ... 40 
Capture of St. Andre, the Island of Bommel, Bois le 

Due, and Grave 41 

Capture of the Cities of Utrecht and Arnheim, and 

the Fortress of Gertruydenberg ... 44 
General Pichegru received at Amsterdam as the De- 
liverer of Holland ib. 

Campaign of 1796 40 

Positions of the French and Austrians at the opening 

of the Campaign 46 

Battle of Uckerath 47 

Ditto of Altenkirchen . . . . • 48 

Passage of the Rhine by General Moreau . . 51 

Capture of the Fortress of Kehl by Ditto . . 52 
General Latour succeeds to the Command of the 

Army of the Upper Rhine .... 53 

Battle of Renchen , . . . . . 54 

Ditto of Rastadt ib. 

Passage of the Sieg and the Rhine by Gen. Jourdan 55 

Battle of Montebauer *&• 



295 

Investment and capture of the Fort of Koenigstein 56 
Bombardment and capture of Frankfort . . ib. 
Battle of the Alb or Etlingen .... 57 
Abandonment of the Cities of Manheim and Mentz, 
and the Fortresses of Philipsburg and Ehrenbreit- 

stein, by the Austrians 58 

Retreat of the Imperialists to the Danube . . 59 
Fall of Stutgard, Ulm, and Donawert ib. 

The passage of the Lech forced by General Moreau 60 
Appeals of the Emperor of Austria to the People of 

Bohemia and Hungary ib. 

Action at Sultzbach .62 

Retreat of the Austrians across the Naab . . 63 
Defeat of Gen. Bemadotte at Teining and Neumarkt ib. 
Retreat of General Jourdan 6^ 

Commencement of the Retreat of the Army of the 
Rhine and Moselle ; Operations of the Army from 
the 24th Fructidor (10th September, Old Style,) 

to the 27th 66 

Battle of Neubourg — Movements of the Armies 
from the 26th Fructidor, (14th September, Old 
Style,) until the 2d Complementaire 68 

Considerable Sortie made by the Garrisons of Man- 
heim and Philipsburg — Attack of Kehl on the 2d 
Comp!£mentaire, (18th September, Old Style,) 74 
Continuation of the Retreat of the Army of the Rhine 

and Moselle, to the 10th Vendemaire . . 86 
Battle of Biberach, the 11th Vendemaire, (2d Octo- 
ber, 1796, Old Style,) 91 

Continuation of the Retreat of the Army — Affairs of 
Rotweil and Villingen, 18th Vendemaire, (9th Oc- 
tober Old Style,)— .Passage of the Valley of Hell 94 



296 

Affair upon the Eltz, the 28th Vendemaire, (16th 
October, Old Style, — Retreat of the Army on 
Huninguen — Operations to the 1st Brumaire, . 99 
Defensive Battle of Schliengen, on the 3d Brumaire, 
(23d October, Old Style,) .... 105 

Siege of Kehl ........ 110 

Investment of Kehl, the 1st Comple mentaire — Open- 
ing of the Trenches, the 1st Frimaire — Consider- 
able sortie, the 2d Frimaire, (22d November, Old 
Style) — Evacuation of Kehl by the French, the 
21st JVr it, (10th Jan. 1797, Old Style,) 110 to 137 
General Moreau wounded in the head . . 113 

Siege of Huninguen 137 

Fall of General Abatucci .... 138 

Determination of the French to abandon the right 
Bank of the Rhine, and capitulation agreed upon 139 

Campaign of tfie artm* of tfie tftijute anfc ^ogeile 
in 1797. 

Critical situation of Buonaparte, commanding the 

Army of Italy, about the middle of April, 1797 . 140 
General Moreau forces the Passage of the Rhine 141 
Capture of Diersheim, and attempts of the Imperi- 
alists to retake it 142 

Capture of Lientz and Habine . 143 

Recapture of the Fort of Kehl . . . . ib. 

Peace of Leoben 144» 

Message of the Directory to the Council of Five 
Hundred on ditto 146 

Campaign of 1799 in Jtalp ... 148 

Situation of the Army of Italy under Gen. Scherer ib. 
Ditto of the Army of Naples, under Gen. Macdonald 149 
Ditto of the Austrian Army, under Gen. Kray . ib. 



297 

Communications of the Imperialists from the Upper 
to the Lower Adige, cut off by General Moreau, 
and their Right Wing defeated . . . 156 
Suspension of Arms agreed upon to bury the Dead 151 
Loss of the French in the early part of the Campaign 153 

Battle of Magnan 154 

The Inhabitants of the two Banks of the Po take up 

Arms, &c 157 

General Melas takes the Command of the Austrian 

Army • 158 

General Melas establishes his Head-Quarters at Val- 
leggio, and is joined in that Position by the Russian 
Army under Suwarroff, who takes the Chief Com- 
mand of the Troops of the two Emperors . 159 

Character of Suwarroff ib. 

The Command of the Army of Italy taken from Ge- 
neral Scherer, and invested in General Moreau 161 
Positions of the French Army on General Moreau 

taking the Command . . - . . ib. 

Ditto of the Allies ...... 162 

Battle of the Adda ...... 163 

Capitulation of General Serrurier with the Left Wing 
of General Moreau's Army .... 164 

Mantua taken by General Kray . . . 166 
Pizzighetone ditto ditto ib. 

Forces of Moreau pass the Bormida . . 167 

Battle of Marengo ib. 

Capitulation of Ferara 168 

General Macdonald directed to evacuate the King- 
dom of Naples, and join General Moreau . ib. 
Actions of the 10th and 12th June, 1799, near Mo- 

dena .170 

2P 



298 

Battle of the 17th, 18th, and 19th June, on hoth 
sides of the Trebhia, between the Army under Ge- 
neral Macdonall and that under SuwarrofF, in 
which the former was defeated . . . 17# 

Junction between General Moreau's and General 
Macdonald's Armies 172 

General Joubert appointed to the Command of the 
Army of Italy 173 

General Moreau appointed to command the Army 
of the Rhine ....... ib. 

Battle of Novi 174, 

Disputes between the Allies, and Consequences 175 

General Championnet appointed Commander-in- 
Chief of the two Armies of Italy and the Alps 17S 

Coni, Mondovi, Ceva, and Serraville surrendered to 
the Austrians . . . . . . 176 

Campaign of 1800 in ©ermanp . . 177 

General Moreau selected to command the Army of 

the Danube ....... ib. 

Outline of the Campaign ib. 

Passage of the Rhine on the 20th April . . 178 

Manoeuvres of Gen. Moreau to deceive Gen. Kray 179 
General Moreau attacks the Posts of Stockach and 

Eugen . ib. 

Battle of Mosskirk 180 

Plan of Co-operation concerted between General 

Moreau and Bonaparte 181 

Battle of Blenheim 182 

Battle of Neubourg ib. 

General Moreau enters Bavaria, and establishes his 

Head-quarters at Munich .... ib. 



299 

Extension of the Armistice, agreed upon after the 
Battle of Marengo, to Germany . . . ib. 

Refusal of the Emperor of Austria to ratify the Pre- 
liminaries of Peace signed hy his Plenipotentiary 183 

Position of the French Armies ib. 

Ditto of the Austrian Armies .... 18* 

General Moreau re-commences Hostilities near the 
Inn, and carries the Works at Wassenberg . • ih 

Battle at Haag ib. 

Battle of Hohenlinden . 185 

Peace of Luneville . . . « . 186 

Splendid Feast in the Church of St. Sulpice . 191 

Observation of Buonaparte to General Moreau, at 
the first Interview that ever took place between 
them ib. 

Conspiracy of General Pichegru, Georges, Cadoudal, 
and Lajollais ... . 195. 

Buonaparte's Determination to involve General Mo- 
reau in ditto 196 

Satirical Observations of General Moreau against 
Buonaparte . . . . . . ib. 

Arrest of General Moreau . 197 

Report of the Grand Judge, Minister of Justice, to 
the French Government, on the Conspiracy . ib. 

Address to the Tribunate from the Brother of Gene- 
ral Moreau 203 

Addresses to the First Consul, and his Reply . 204 

The last Letter written by General Pichegru to this 
Country 205 

Remarks on the Tactics, Manner, and Person of 
General Pichegru 207 

Capture of Georges * . . . . 2© 8 



o. 



00 



Sentence of the Judges on General Moreau * 209 

Sentence of Ditto remitted for Banishment by 

Buonaparte ..... 210 

General Moreau's Arrival in America . . 212 

Colonel Rappatel's Departure from America, and 

Reception at St. Petersburg . . .215 

Offers made by the Americans to General Moreau 216 
Embarkation of General Moreau from America . 217 
Meeting between General Moreau and the Crown . 
Prince of Sweden ; and Plan of Military Opera- 
tions concerted for the ensuing Campaign . ib. 
Arrival of General Moreau at Stralsund and Berlin 218 
Ditto at Prague ; and his Reception by the Empe- 
rors of Russia and Austria and King of Prussia 219 
Proclamation of General Moreau on joining the 

Allied Armies .... 220 

Fall of General Moreau . . . 222 

Lieutenant- General Sir Charles Stewart's Accounts 

of the Operations at and in the Vicinity of Dresden : 

Dispatch, dated Zehista, August 27, 1813 . 223 

Ditto Allenberg 29 . . 226 

Ditto Toplitz 30 . . 230 

Ditto Ditto 31 . . 232 

Observation of Gen. Moreau on receiving his Wound 226 

Amputation of General Moreau's Legs . 237 

Route from the Field of Battle to Dippoldswalden ib. 

General Moreau's Letter to Madame Moreau 23S 

Continuation of Ditto, by Colonel Rappatel . 239 

Translation of Ditto Ditto . ,240 

General Moreau's Letter to the Emperor Alexander 2*2 

General Moreau's last Moments and Death . 243 



301 

Letter from the Emperor Alexander to the Widow 

of General Moreau .... 24f 

Orders of the Emperor Alexander relative to the 

Remains of General Moreau . . . 245 

Defence of the Conduct of General Moreau . ib. 

Anecdote of General Moreau on commencing his 

military Career .... 246 

Anecdote of the Nobleness of General Moreau 247 

Ditto Ditto Ditto 248 

Marriage of General Moreau, in 1800 . . 249 

Brutal conduct of a soldier to Madame Moreau 250 
Conduct of Madame Moreau on the Imprisonment 
of her Husband ; her late Voyage to France, and 
Arrival in this Country . . .251 



APPENDIX. 

General Dedon's Details of the Operations at the 
passage of the Rhine, on the 24th of June, 1796, 
and of those immediately subsequent ; which are 
elucidated by an accompanying Map . . 255 

Attack of Missenheim and Bedair . . 256 

Description of the Kintzig . . ib. 

Troops destined for the Attack of Kehl . . 258 

Preparations for and Attack of Kehl . . 259 

Passage of the Rhine on the 17th September, 1793 271 
Observations on the Defence of Kehl made by the 

Austrians, and its Fall in June, 1 796 . . 272 

French Troops employed at the Defence of Kehl 287 
Austrian Troops employed at the Siege of Kehl 289 



302 

DELATION OF THE MONTHS IN THE OLD AND 
NEW CALENDARS. 

Vendemaire begins Sept. 22. 



Brumaire 


Oct. 23. 


Fi imaire 


Nov. 22. 


JSTivose 


Dec. 22. 


Pluiose 


Jan. SI. 


Ventose 


Feb. 20. 


Germinal 


March 22 


Floreal 


April 21. 


Prairial 


May 21. 


Messidor 


June 20. 


Thermidor 


July 20. 


Fructidor 


Aug. 19. 



The jive Supplementary days correspond to Sept, 
17, 18, 19, 20, and 21. 



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